Living the Life I Wished For
by MoonandStars1597
Summary: Elaina was just another girl from Earth that loved Fairy Tail...until she indirectly made a wish that sent her to Earthland to live a life of a Fairy Tail wizard. And not just any Fairy Tail wizard-Lucy! Now Elaina has to deal with living the life of a main character while knowing the future and dealing with her feelings for a certain dragon slayer. Natsu/OC
1. Prologue

**Hello fellow Fairy Tail readers!**

 **I haven't written a story in a while so I'm asking for all of you to bear with me.**

 **Just warning all of you right now that this story is gonna take a bit of a turn. I'm looking at this from a different perspective and all I ask is for you to respect that. I will accept constructive criticism, but flames are just harsh and mean and can really discourage a writer about what they're writing and that's just wrong.**

 **So with this story I've decided it to be Natsu/OC. I apologize to all NaLu fans. It's not that I don't like Natsu and Lucy being together, I'm just looking at this from a different point of view. And I'm not trying to completely replace Lucy in every way possible, such as saying the exact same lines, because let's face it, that would be completely pointless. There are going to be twists as well and maybe some more characters added on later, I'm still trying to decide.**

 **So I hope you guys at least give this story a chance and if you find that it's not for you, then that's okay. Not everyone's going to like it and I accept that, but please don't be mean about it.**

 **Thanks guys! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, wish I did though because then I would totally be living that kind of life, but anything you don't recognize, such as a character, then that is mine!**

* * *

It was a cold night, but that didn't stop the seventeen year old brunette from sitting on the roof of the building in which she lived in.

After the rough day she had, the girl felt relief breathing in the cold night air. The caretaker of the building, which was an orphanage, kept yelling at her at every little thing she had done. It was always 'You're not doing it right, Elaina' or 'Those dishes aren't clean enough'. Sometimes it was a rough grab of the arm that left bruises or even a slap to the face.

Elaina couldn't fathom why the caretaker, Miss Riley, even singled her out. Was it because she was jealous of Elaina? Was it because she managed to smile despite the conditions in which she lived in or the abuse she took? Or was it because Miss Riley was jealous of Elaina's brown hair and green eyes? Many of the younger girls said Elaina was very pretty, like a princess. Elaina could only guess because she was never going to stand up for herself.

Elaina never stood up for herself against anyone, not even to the younger boys, who mocked her quite often.

Elaina lost her parents in a house fire when she was just eight years old. The death of her parents caused her to be even more quiet and shy than she already was at that age. And for that, many of the children made fun of her, usually calling her names, such as Mute.

Elaina sighed again, seeing her breath in the night air. She pulled her hoodie closer to her body to keep out the cold. She looked out into the dark, wishing she could be anywhere but at the orphanage. She wished she could be living a life of adventure, much like the anime/manga series, Fairy Tail.

She came across the anime once while she was on the internet and immediately got hooked on it. Suppose it was the moral of family and friendship prevailing over all that drew her in, she mused.

It wasn't just that, but also the action that was involved and the characters. One of her favorite characters was Natsu. The way he always stood up for his friends made Elaina smile.

Truth is Elaina was a bit jealous of everyone in Fairy Tail, despite how stupid she thought it was considering the show wasn't real. They were orphans, or so it seemed, and they still managed to find people who accepted them and cared for them. Elaina didn't have that.

She lost both her parents and landed in a poorly conditioned orphanage where people were nothing but horrible to her, with only a few exceptions. She didn't really have any friends or anyone to care about her.

Elaina sighed again before standing up from her place on the roof. She stretched before letting out a yawn.

"Time for bed," she said to herself before climbing into her bedroom which she shared with three other girls, two ten year old twins and their six year old sister. Amelia, Ophelia, and Julie were the only three at the orphanage that didn't have a problem with her.

The boys were all younger than Elaina, being the oldest kid living at the orphanage, and rather immature. The girls were just as worse, if not more. They ranged from Julie's age to Elaina and were rather chatty and liked to gossip. So they usually talked about Elaina whenever she was in the room. Ophelia said that they only did that because they were jealous of how beautiful Elaina was, but Elaina had her doubts.

Elaina quietly changed out of her clothes and into her pajamas, a simple T-shirt and shorts.

"Goodnight, girls," she whispered to already sleeping sisters before kissing them on their heads. Those three really were like her little sisters and made staying at the orphanage a little bearable, not a whole lot, but a bit.

Elaina crawled into her own bed and took a deep breath while staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come to her.

 _God, I wish my life was a bit like Lucy's,_ she thought. _No matter what life throws at her, she still has so many people who love her. I'd like something like that._

Then she closed her eyes for the night.

* * *

 **All right so there's the prologue. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm already working on the first episode of the anime and I hope to have it done as soon as I can, but bear with me please because I go back to college tomorrow night and classes start on Monday.**

 **Anyway, reviews are always welcomed!**


	2. The Fairy Tail

**Hey guys! I know it's been almost two months since I posted the prologue and I'm sorry. It's just that I've been busy with school and homework and I'm sure anyone in college can understand.**

 **So anyway, here's chapter one of Elaina's journey in Fairy Tail and I hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or anything of the like. I only own Elaina and anything you don't recognize.**

* * *

Elaina woke up to the noise of other people hustling around.

 _That's weird,_ she thought. Usually she didn't hear these kinds of sounds at the orphanage. Is it possible they were doing construction nearby and she hadn't heard about it?

She opened her eyes and was shocked when she found herself in an alleyway.

"How'd I get here?" she asked herself as she sat up. Nearby was an old suitcase that she hadn't seen since she moved into the orphanage. Her mother's suitcase, one of the only things that managed to be salvaged from her old home. "How'd that get here? More importantly, where am I?"

Elaina looked around the alley, thinking she managed to sleep walk her way there, but a jingle sound caught her attention. She looked down at her belt—how'd she manage to change into jean shorts, a long sleeved, purple shirt with a t-shirt over it in a lighter shade of purple, and purple sneakers?—and saw a ring of keys that varied from gold to silver hanging there.

"What?!" she exclaimed before looking to see the whip on the other side of her belt. "This can't be possible!" Elaina quickly opened the suitcase, noting that most of her clothes from the orphanage were in there, and pulled out a mirror. She let out a sigh of relief, seeing her brown haired, green eyed reflection, before realizing the most important fact.

"My wish last night…I didn't just get a life like Lucy's. I got Lucy's life. I replaced her! Oh no!"

This was bad. This was very, very bad.

 _How could I be so stupid? I should've known wishing for something like this would have serious consequences. I mean, seriously, you've read stuff like this online, Elaina. Yeah, those were fiction, but people have written about stuff like this happening._ Elaina took a deep breath.

"Okay, so I'm just gonna have to let this play out," she said out loud. Elaina smiled a little. "It can't be too bad. I get to join Fairy Tail, but I feel bad. Lucy could still exist and I just stole the life she was meant to have. Or maybe because I'm here, Lucy doesn't exist anymore. Either way, I'm just gonna have to go with the storyline because if I don't, who knows what could happen."

Elaina sighed and put the mirror away before standing up. "Okay, I can only guess that I'm at the start of the series, so I must be in Hargeon. Now Lucy was first seen in a magic shop to purchase Plue's gate key. Guess I know where my first stop is." She grabbed the handle of her mother's suitcase and started walking around Hargeon before she came to a stop.

"Wait a minute," she said to herself. "Lucy didn't have her suitcase on her so she must've dropped it off at a hotel or an inn. Looks like I have a change in destination." Elaina continued walking around town, managing to find a decent looking inn. she checked in, grabbing a room for the night; although she knew that she probably wouldn't use it for the night. Then Elaina continued to walk around town, hoping for some familiarity that she had seen in the show. Finally, she spotted the magic shop and walked in.

"Hello," she greeted the shopkeeper.

"Hello there," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was just passing by when I saw you shop," Elaina said to him. "I couldn't help but notice that it's the only magic shop I've seen so far in town."

"Yes, it's the only shop in town. The people around here are more fishing folk than they are magic folk. I reckon most people in town don't even know how to use magic. I built this shop to sell to the wizards who happen to be passing through, much like yourself."

"I can see why. Hargeon is a port city. People here rely on merchants and traders, not wizards."

"Well, aren't you a smart young lady. Now what can I get for you?"

"I'm looking for some gate keys," Elaina said, deciding not to mention that she was looking for a specific key. That could make him a bit suspicious and that would be bad for her. Elaina looked around the shop and saw Plue's gate key.

"Gate keys, huh?" the shop keeper inquired. "That's a rare request."

"Oh, wow. The little dog." Elaina looked at the gate key in awe. It was incredibly different seeing it in person rather than on a screen.

"Yes, but that one's not very powerful, you know."

"I know, but I kinda really want it." She tried her best not to sound like Lucy when she was buying the gate key. It was a bit difficult though because Elaina truly wanted Plue's gate key. "How much is it?"

"20,000 Jewel," the shop keeper said.

"Oh, wow." Elaina quickly checked her pockets, finding out that she had enough money to buy the gate key, but that would mean she would have very little left over. She bit her lip, knowing that she was going to meet Natsu and Happy in the future and she would be treating them to lunch. Remembering that scene, she knew that she would be spending quite a bit of money on food.

"Is there any way we can make a deal?" she timidly asked the shop keeper. He considered this.

"Well, you seem like such a smart and polite young lady. I suppose I could drop the price to 18,500 Jewel." Elaina was a bit surprised. The shop keeper only dropped the price a thousand jewel for Lucy. Then she had to remember that she wasn't Lucy and that her presence could already be affecting how the events are going to happen.

"Oh, thank you," Elaina thanked the shop keeper. "I really appreciate it." She paid the man and collect the gate key. She said goodbye, wishing the shop keeper a nice day, before leaving the shop.

"Me being here must already be changing things," Elaina said to herself as she walked through town. "I gotta be careful though. I can't change things too much or I'm gonna affect the whole story and make things go from bad to worse." She sighed. "That's a lot of pressure. I'm not sure I can even do it." She looked down at the ground as she walked.

Then she heard girls screaming like they saw their favorite celebrity. She looked in the direction of those girls before seeing the group of screaming fangirls, remembering this was the moment that she was gonna meet Natsu and Happy.

She walked over to the group, hearing the name Salamander as she did. Knowing that it wasn't really Salamander, Elaina only hoped that she wouldn't be put under that spell much like Lucy did before Natsu had showed up.

Elaina looked at the wizard, who was going by Salamander, as the girls were screaming at him, trying to gain his attention. To be honest, she wasn't impressed. Sure, the guy was decent looking, but Elaina wouldn't call him hot.

"You ladies are all so sweet," Salamander said. Then he turned his head, glancing over at Elaina, taking note of her beauty.

"Igneel! Igneel!" Elaina heard Natsu shout as he was getting closer to the crowd. "Igneel, it's me!" Elaina looked at Natsu shoved his way to the front of the crowd. The pink haired boy looked at Salamander, disappointed that the wizard wasn't who he was looking for. "Who the heck at you?"

"Who am I?" Salamander asked, shocked that Natsu obviously hadn't recognized him. Then he recovered. "I'm Salamander. Surely you've heard of me before." Then he noticed that Natsu and Happy were walking away. "Hey, wait a minute!"

That's when some girls attacked Natsu, angry that he was walking away.

"You're so rude!" one of them exclaimed.

"Salamander's a great wizard," another said. "You better apologize to him or we're gonna rip you to shreds."

"What is it with you girls?" Natsu asked.

"Now, now," Salamander said. "That's enough, my lovelies. Let him go. I'm sure the poor boy didn't mean anything malicious by it." The crowd of girls swooned. Then he handed Natsu his autograph. "Here' my autograph, kid. Now you can brag to all your friends."

"No, thanks," Natsu said. This earned him another vicious attack by the fangirls.

"Guess it wasn't him after all," Happy said as Natsu groaned in pain.

"Definitely not him," the pink haired boy said in pain.

"Well, I'm afraid I must be going, ladies," Salamander said. "I have business to attend to."

"You're leaving already?" the girls asked in disappointment and sadness.

Salamander snapped his fingers and light purple fire appeared at his feet, lifting him high above the ground. This earned cheers from the girls.

"I'm having a soiree on my yacht tonight and you're all invited," he said before he left. The girls were still chattering when he left.

"Who the heck was that guy?" Natsu asked.

"Not sure, but he was a bit of a creep," Elaina said as she walked over to Natsu and Happy. The two looked at her. She waved shyly at them with a small smile on her face. On the inside, however, she was fangirling herself. She was so excited to meet Natsu and Happy. "Hi. I saw those girls attack you and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Uh…" Natsu managed to say before his stomach growled in hunger. Elaina giggled a bit.

"How about we go grab some lunch? My treat."

"Sure," Natsu said.

* * *

The three had gone to a nearby restaurant where they sat down at a table and ordered before Natsu and Happy introduced themselves.

"My name's Elaina," the brunette said. "It's nice to meet you." Natsu chowed down the food that was brought over. "So Natsu and Happy, huh?"

"Hm-hmm, you're so nice," Natsu said with his mouth full of food. Despite the mouth full of food, Elaina still blushed at the compliment.

"Thanks. But you can slow down, you know. You're gonna choke if you don't." She smiled a bit. _It's a good thing that shop keeper lowered the price more. I still have some spending money. Not a whole lot, but some._

"So it seems like that Salamander guy was using some sort of charm spell to hypnotize those girls in town into thinking they were in love with him," Elaina said. Then she came up with a lie, not sure if Happy or Natsu would call her out on not being under the spell herself. "I had a friend go through something like that once. He must've gone through a lot of trouble to get his hands on it since they've been banned for years. That creep."

She put her hands around the hot chocolate she ordered with a bit of a smile on her face before she continued. "Believe it or not, I'm a wizard too."

"Is that so?" Natsu asked as he continued stuffing his face.

"Yeah, but I haven't joined a guild yet." Elaina took a sip of her hot chocolate. "You two know what guilds are or have heard about them, right?" The two nodded. "Then I guess I don't have to explain, huh?" She traced the tip of her finger around the edge of her cup. "The guild I wanna join is the most popular one there is. I mean, I've heard some bad stuff about them, but they seem like such a fun bunch to join. I was once told that sometimes the good just outweigh the bad and I think the same applies when joining that guild. I'm definitely gonna do it one day. It'll be fun, going on jobs and making new friends." Natsu looked at me in interest.

"You talk a lot," Happy said. Elaina blushed, gazing down at the table while playing with the necklace around her neck. It was a simple heart pendant with a small garnet stone, her birth stone, in the center. It was originally her mother's that she had made when Elaina was born.

"I've been told that before," she said. "I tend to ramble when I get really into a conversation. Sorry."

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Elaina looked at Happy and smiled.

"That's okay. Like I said, it's not the first time I've been told that. Anyway, you guys came here to try and find someone, right?"

"We're looking for Igneel," Happy said.

"We heard a rumor that a Salamander was gonna be coming through this town so we came here to see him," Natsu said with his mouth full of food still. "Turns out it was somebody else." He continued eating.

"Yeah, that guy didn't look like a salamander at all."

"No kidding. I bet that poser can't even breathe fire like a real dragon."

"Uh, so you're saying your friend looks like a dragon?" Elaina pretended to inquire. She knew exactly what they meant, but they obviously didn't.

"No, you got it all wrong. He doesn't look like a dragon. He is one." Despite already knowing this, the thought of a real dragon still shocked Elaina.

"What?"

"Aye, Igneel is a real life fire dragon," Happy said. Elaina bit her lip.

"I hate to burst your bubble, guys, but why would a fire dragon be in the middle of town?" The boys were speechless. "The thought does seem a bit ridiculous. Not to mention people would definitely notice the large dragon. I'm sorry, but I don't think your friend Igneel is here." Remembering this was just about the right time that Lucy had left, Elaina got up and left the right amount of money on the table.

"Anyway, I should really get going." She looked at Natsu and Happy. "I really hope I'll see you guys again." She started to walk towards the door.

"Thank you, ma'am," the waitress at the door said to Elaina. "Please come again." Then she looked behind the brunette. "Oh!" Elaina, too, looked back to see Natsu and Happy on their knees, bowing.

"Thank you for the food!" Natsu said.

"Thank you!" Happy said. Elaina blushed in embarrassment as people looked at the three.

"Please stop, you guys," she said. "You're embarrassing me." The two looked up at her. "Really, it's no big deal. I figured since you got beat up earlier, Natsu, the least I could do was treat you to lunch. A friendly gesture is all."

"I feel bad, though, 'cause she's been so nice to us," Natsu said to Happy.

"Aye, we owe her something," the blue cat said.

"Oh, I know!" Natsu held up the autograph he got from Salamander. "Here, this is for you." Elaina giggled.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she said. "You guys don't owe me anything anyways. I wanted to do this. Now I really should get going, but you guys should stay and finish eating." She waved goodbye at them. "I hope to see you guys around."

Then she left the restaurant and found herself at a park. She sat down on a bench and thought about her meeting Natsu and Happy.

"Meeting those two, I'm definitely not disappointed," the girl said to herself as she looked up at the sky with a smile. "It probably went better than what I expected." She sighed dreamily, thinking about what was going to happen in the future. "Fairy Tail…ever since finding out about the series, I've always wanted to join that guild, to have a sense of belonging again." She pulled on of her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around it. "Fairy Tail really is the best guild there ever was."

"What was that?" a voice said, gaining Elaina's attention. "You want to join Fairy Tail?"

"You!" Elaina said as Salamander came out from the bushes.

"I've been looking all over for you," he said. "I wanted to personally invite you to the party I'm having on my yacht tonight."

"Your charm spell won't work on me. That magic's weakness is awareness. It doesn't work on people if they know you're using it." Elaina felt confident despite her quiet nature. Maybe it was because she knew what kind of man this Salamander really was.

"Just as I thought. I guessed you were a wizard the moment I laid eyes on you. No matter. The invitation still stands."

"Yeah, no thanks. I wouldn't even dream about going to a party thrown by a creep like you."

"A creep? Why would you call me that?"

"Well, for one, your spell, using it to make yourself popular and gaining the affection of all those girls."

"Don't be mad, my dear. It's all in good fun. I just wanted to feel like a celebrity at my own party. Can you blame me?"

"Even famous wizards can be big idiots, huh?"

"You wish to join the Fairy Tail Guild, right?" Elaina looked at him warily. "Have you ever heard about Salamander, one of Fairy Tail's wizards?"

"Are you telling me you're him?"

"That's correct. And if you want to join, I could probably put in a good word for you." Elaina knew that this was part of his trap and knew that he wasn't a Fairy Tail wizard, but she still had to continue on with the storyline.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to go to a party," she finally said.

"Then I'll see you at the party tonight." He turned to leave, but stopped and look back at her. "If you could not say anything about the charm spell—"

"I won't say a thing," Elaina cut him off.

"Good." Then, like before, he snapped his fingers and fire appeared at his feet, carrying him off. Elaina sighed once he was gone.

"I guess I have to start getting ready for that party, huh?" she said to herself. "I just hope I have a dress in that suitcase."

Elaina went back to the inn she was staying at and rummaged through the suitcase until she found what she was looking for.

It was a simple dress that went down to her ankles. There was a slit on the right side that went up to just below her mid-thigh. It was a nice royal blue with a neckline that stopped right before her cleavage and loose sleeves that were three quarters. Elaina also found one inch heels of the same royal blue. Then she brushed her hair, letting it fall down to her mid-back.

She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She straightened out her dress.

"Well, this is the best I can do," she said out loud. "Now it's onto the party."

* * *

"It's Elaina, right?" Salamander asked as he poured drinks for them. "That's a lovely name."

"Uh, thank you," Elaina said quietly as he set down the bottle.

"I'd like to toast to your beauty." He snapped his fingers and balls of the liquid floated out of the glass. "Now, open up wide, Elaina. Savor the taste of each flavorful drop as it enters your mouth." Elaina cringed at how creepy he sounded. She waited until the liquid was close to her before she slapped them away.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked as she stood up. "You don't think I know what you're up to? You're trying to use sleep magic." Salamander chuckled.

"Very impressive, my dear."

"I don't want to give you the wrong idea, but I'm not gonna go as far as dating you to get into the Fairy Tail Guild."

"You're quite a handful, aren't you?" Then two curtains opened. Guys with big muscles were holding the guests of the party, who were asleep.

"What's going on?"

"Welcome aboard my ship. And you'd be wise to behave yourself until we make it Bosco." Then he said in a low, intimidating voice, "Don't make me angry."

"We're going to Bosco?! What happened to getting me into Fairy Tail?"

"Forget it. I just said that so I could lure you here and make you one of our slaves. Although…" He stepped closer to her and ran his finger down her cheek, jawline, and stopped under her chin. "With your natural beauty, I might just take you for myself." Elaina shuddered in fear briefly at the thought of what he might do to her before slapping his hand away and pushing him back.

"You're gonna kidnap all of these girls?" Elaina clenched her fists in anger before reaching to grab her keys from the holster on her thigh. "I'm not gonna let you get away with this!"

Salamander snapped his fingers and a string of fire knocked the keys out of her hands and into Salamander's.

"These are gate keys," he noticed. "So you're a celestial wizard. Only the wizard who is contracted can use this magic so these are absolutely useless to me. Whoops." He tossed the gate keys out of the window. Elaina's eyes opened widely as he did so.

Two of his guys grabbed onto Elaina's arms while she closed her eyes tightly, trying to wield the tears that were gathering back before she looked at the man before her with a fire in her eyes that very few rarely saw.

"You used magic to take advantage of others. You have got to be the worst wizard alive." Suddenly, something large crashed into the ceiling. Elaina smiled when she saw that it was Natsu. "Natsu!" Then the ship rocked on the water and Natsu suddenly looked sick.

"I knew this was a bad idea," he managed to say with his hand over his mouth to keep himself from throwing up. Elaina sighed, remembering that Natsu had motion sickness.

"Hey, what're you doing here, Elaina?" Happy said, floating above the hole Natsu had made with his wings spread out.

"The creep tricked me, Happy," Elaina said. "He said he was gonna get me into Fairy Tail. Hey, I didn't know you can fly."

"Yep." He then used his tail to wrap around Elaina's waist and took off. "Hold on."

"What about Natsu, Happy? Is he gonna be okay?"

"I can't carry two people." Then he dodged the multiple streams of fire that Salamander had sent their way.

"Seriously, Happy, what about Natsu and the other girls?"

"We got a problem, Elaina."

"What do you mean? What's wrong?" That's when Happy's wings disappeared.

"My transformation's up." Then they both screamed as they plummeted into the ocean.

Getting her bearings, Elaina looked around and saw her gate keys resting on a rock. She quickly swam over to them, grabbed them, and then swam up to the surface. She took a gasp of air before looking towards the ship that was still on its way to Bosco.

"All right, this is it," she said quietly, hoping Happy didn't hear her. "My first time using magic." Then she said louder, "Let's do this. Open, Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" She turned the key in the water, opening the gate that allowed the blue haired mermaid to appear.

"A fish!" Happy said excitedly, seeing the fishtail on the mermaid.

"Sorry, Happy, but she's not for you," Elaina said.

"That was awesome."

"That's the power of a celestial wizard." Elaina smiled. _I can't believe I just used magic!_ "Whenever I use my gate keys, I can summon spirits from other worlds to help me. All right, Aquarius, I need you to use your power to push that ship back into port." She pointed at the ship. Aquarius scoffed. "Oh so that's our relationship, huh? Look, Aquarius, I'm sorry that your key dropped, but to be honest, it wasn't really my fault. I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out here, please."

"The next time it happens, though, you're dead." Elaina sighed.

"Right." Then Aquarius used her urn to create this enormous wave to wash the ship back onto shore, along with Elaina and Happy. The ship washed up on the shore, tipped on its side. Elaina sighed as she looked at the celestial spirit.

"Thanks for your help, Aquarius," she said.

"Don't call me for a while," the blue haired spirit said. "I'm going on a week-long vacation with my boyfriend. And he's hot."

"You don't need to rub it in." Then Aquarius returned to her home.

"I've got an idea," Happy said. "If the fish lady gives you any more trouble, you can call me to take care of her." Elaina giggled slightly.

"Thanks, Happy." Elaina stood up before running towards the ship with Happy on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Natsu standing up in one piece. "Natsu!" She stopped when she saw the look on Natsu's face.

"So you claim to be a member of the Fairy Tail Guild?" Natsu said to Salamander.

"So what's it to you?" Salamander asked. "Go get him, men."

"Sir," his guys said.

"Let me get a closer look at your face," Natsu said before taking off his coat.

"Natsu, look out," Elaina said on instinct as two guys charged at Natsu.

"Don't worry about him," Happy said, holding a fish in his paws. He must've gotten it from his backpack. "I probably should've told you this earlier, but he's a wizard too." Elaina just looked on in amazement as Natsu knocked a guy down with a single blow.

"My name is Natsu," Natsu said. "And I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. And I've never seen you before."

"Oh, wow," Elaina said. "Natsu's a Fairy Tail wizard?"

"That mark on his arm, this guy's the real deal, Bora," one of 'Salamander's' guys said.

"Don't call me that, you fool," Bora said.

"I know him," Happy said. "That's Bora the Prominence. Rumor has it, he was kicked out of the Titan Nose Wizard Guild a couple years ago because of bad behavior."

"I have no idea what you're trying to do here, buddy, and I don't care if you're a good guy, bad guy, or what," Natsu said as he walked down the side of ship to get closer to Bora. "I'm not gonna let you dirty the Fairy Tail Guild's name."

"What are you gonna do about it?" Bora said. "Stop me? Prominence Typhoon!" A magic circle appeared in front of him and a stream of purple fire shot out and attacked Natsu.

"Natsu!" Elaina shouted, reacting to instinct to go help him. Only Happy, with his wings spread out, stopped her. She looked on and watched in awe as Natsu, still very much alive, consumed the flames around him.

"Thanks for the grub, poser," Natsu said.

"What's going on here?" one of the men asked. "Who is this kid?"

"Fire magic doesn't work on Natsu," Happy said.

"Oh wow," Elaina said. "I've never seen anything like that before." She watched as Natsu continued walking towards Bora and his men.

"Now I've got a fire in my belly that's raging to get out," the pink haired boy said. Then he unleashed his attack, bring his two hands together in front of his mouth. "Fire Dragon Roar!" A huge stream of fire shot out from Natsu's hands. All of the men were down for the count, except for Bora, who used his fire to lift him above the wreckage.

"Hey, Bora, I swear I've seen this guy before," one of the men said. "The pink hair and the scaly looking scarf, there's no doubt about it. He's got to be the real one."

"Salamander, huh?" Elaina said with a smile.

"I hope you guys are paying attention," Natsu said as flames surrounded both his fists. "This is what a Fairy Tail wizard can do. Here I come!" Natsu charged to attack. Bora tried to counterattack, but that didn't stop Natsu. Elaina watched as the two went at each other.

"So Natsu can eat fire and then use it to attack?" she asked Happy. "How exactly can he do that? Is it a spell or something?"

"He has dragon lungs that allow him to breathe fire, dragon scales to help him to dissolve the fire, and dragon claws for attacking with fire," the cat explained. "His brand of fire magic is one that allows his body to take on all the qualities of a dragon. It's an ancient spell that's rarely used anymore."

"Really?" Elaina was really interested. Yes, she knew all of this already, but to her, it was still interesting to hear.

"This particular magic was originally used to deal with dragons."

"Amazing." They watched as Bora used an attack to slice through a good part of the town.

"It's called Dragon Slayer magic. Igneel was the one who taught it to him." They continued to watch as Bora attacked, only for Natsu to eat the flames. Natsu finished the fight with his Fire Dragon Iron Fist attack. He sent Bora into a bell tower.

"Don't be silly, Natsu," Happy said in response to what Natsu had said during his fight. Something about cooking Bora like a smoked fish or something like that. Elaina was just too caught up in the fight. "Everyone knows you smoke food with smoke, not fire."

"That was incredible," Elaina said. "But he sure overdid it."

"Aye." That's when she heard many footsteps and turned around slightly, seeing the vast amount of soldiers coming their way.

"The army?!" Then she screamed as Natsu suddenly grabbed her wrist and was pulling, or really dragging her, behind him.

"Oh, crap, we gotta get out of here," he said.

"Where are we gonna go?" Elaina asked him.

"Just come on. You said that you wanted to join the Fairy Tail Guild, didn't you?" Natsu looked back at her and grinned. "So let's go." Elaina smiled widely and nodded.

"You got it!"

And just like that, Elaina's Fairy Tail journey started.

* * *

 **And there you have it guys! I hope I can have the second chapter done and posted soon, but I ask you to bear with me.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter very much.**

 **Please review you guys!**


	3. Fire Dragon, Monkey, and Bull

**So here you go guys! Two chapters in two days! I'm actually quite proud of myself for getting it done so quickly. I hope you guys enjoy this latest chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Fairy Tail does not belong to me; however, Elaina and future unrecognizable characters do**

* * *

While still running away from the army, Elaina had convinced Natsu to head to the inn where her suitcase was so that she could grab it to take with them. Not to mention change out of her dress.

And now here she was, standing in front of the guildhall of Fairy Tail.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy said. Elaina could practically feel the tears coming on as she smiled the biggest smile she ever had on her face in a long time.

"Hey," Natsu said, grabbing Elaina's attention. "Why're you crying?" Elaina shook her head while wiping her eyes.

"I guess I'm just so happy to finally be here," she said with a soft smile. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to join." Natsu smiled back before kicking in the doors.

"We made it back alive!" he shouted.

"We're home!" Happy exclaimed. Elaina took in the livelihood of the guildhall in awe. Everyone was talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves.

"So I heard you went all out in Hargeon, Natsu," a bucked tooth wizard said. "Had to go starting trou—" He was cut off by Natsu's fist.

"You lied to me about that Salamander," Natsu said in anger. "I'm gonna kick your butt."

"Don't get mad at me. I'm not the one to blame here. I'm just passing along a rumor I heard."

"It was just a rumor?!"

"You wanna fight?!"

"Let's go!"

That's when the chaos started. People were flying this way and that. Happy was even knocked around a bit. Elaina couldn't help but smile at the fighting in front of her.

"I can't believe I'm actually here," she said softly to herself. "After a year of dreaming for this to be real, for me to actually being able to join, it's really happening." She clutched the heart pendant around her neck. "Mom, Dad, I think I found a home where I can be truly accepted."

"So Natsu finally made it back, huh?" a voice caught Elaina's attention. She looked and saw the one and only Gray Fullbuster standing in his underwear. Wow, the series wasn't kidding about him having that stripping habit. "It's time to settle things once and for all." Gray started making his way to the brawling wizards.

"Gray, your clothes?" Cana Alberona said, sitting at the bar with a wine glass in her hand.

"I don't have time for that!"

"You see?" Cana said with a sigh. "I don't date the men here because they have no class." Then she started guzzling down a barrel full of alcohol.

"Right, they're the ones with no class," Elaina muttered. She continued on watching the fight.

"Come here and fight me, Natsu!" Gray said.

"Not until you put some clothes on," Natsu responded.

"It's only noon and you boys already whining like spoiled babies," Elfman said from behind Elaina, causing her to turn around. "I'm a real man. You want me to prove it to you?" In response, both Natsu and Gray punched him, knocking him to the other side of the guildhall.

"Oh wow, they're really that strong," Elaina said.

"Geez, it's so noisy around here, huh?" a voice behind her said. It was accompanied by girlish giggles. Elaina turned around and saw Loke with two girls on either side of him. Elaina had to stifle a laugh when a glass knocked into Loke's forehead.

"Are you all right?" one of the girls asked.

"I'm gonna go fight, only to protect you two," he said before joining the fight.

"Yeesh, he really is a flirt," Elaina said.

"Hello. Are you new here?" The brunette turned around and saw the white haired, blue eyed beauty, Mirajane.

"Oh hi," Elaina said shyly. "I'm Elaina. I was hoping to join the guild." She jerked her thumb at the fight. "Shouldn't we stop them or something?"

"It's always like this around here," Mirajane said. "I just leave them alone. Besides—" She was cut off by Elfman slamming into her. Elaina looked on with wide eyes. "It's kinda fun, don't you think?" Then she passed out.

Elaina grunted as Gray was slammed into her. Natsu proudly stood not far away, twirling Gray's underwear on his finger.

"Give me back my underwear, jerk!" Gray exclaimed. Elaina blushed a deep red and she avoided looking at Gray. The wizard took notice of her and asked, "Excuse me, miss. Could I please borrow your underwear?"

"N-no!" Elaina said, pushing Gray far back as she could. She then was swept off her feet by Loke.

"These guys are all so insensitive," he said. "A woman has needs." Then he was punched by Elfman, causing the playboy to drop Elaina.

"A real man speaks with his fists, Loke!" Elfman said. He was kicked in the face by Natsu.

"I told you to butt out!" the pink haired boy said. Elaina started to fuss over Mirajane as the brawl continued.

"That's enough, you guys," Cana said, bringing out one of her cards as a magic circle appeared in front of it. "I suggest that you knock it off."

"Oh yeah?" Gray said, readying himself to continue to fight. "Says who?" Elfman's arm transformed into rock and Loke readied his ring magic.

"I'm ready for ya!" Natsu said, flames around both fists.

"So they always fight like this?" Elaina said, holding onto Happy like the blue cat could be a shield.

"Uh-huh," he said.

"You don't really seem to be worried." That's when a large black foot stomped onto the ground. Elaina looked at the extremely tall black figure.

"Would you fools stop bickering like children?" he said. Everyone stopped fighting.

"I'm sorry," Mirajane said, having recovered from before. "I didn't know you were still here, Master." Natsu laughed.

"Man, talk about a bunch of babies," he said. "Looks like I win this round, you guys." The large figure stepped on Natsu before looking at Elaina.

"Well, seems we've a new recruit," he said. Elaina nodded and then watched as the figure shrunk down to his normal size. She looked down at the familiar face of Makarov Dreyar, Fairy Tail's guild master. He held up a hand of greetings. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Elaina said. "So this guy's really in charge?"

"Of course he is," Mirajane said. "Allow me to introduce the Fairy Tail guild master, Makarov." Makarov then jumped and flipped towards the railing of the second floor, only to hit his back on the railing before righting himself. Then he cleared his throat and addressed the guild.

"You've gone and done it again, you bunch of clods," he said. "Just take a look at how much paperwork the Magic Council sent me this time. He held up a bunch of papers. "This is the biggest pile of complaints yet. Have you lost your minds?! All you kids are good for is getting the higher-ups mad at me." Master Makarov trembled in anger before he calmed down. "However…" He set the papers in his hands ablaze. "I say to heck with the Magic Council." He threw those papers into the crowd and Natsu caught them in his mouth like a dog catching a treat. "Now listen up. Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic, one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul. If all we do is worry about following rules, then our magic will never progress. Don't let those blowhards on the council scare you. Follow the path you believe in. 'Cause that's what makes the Fairy Tail Guild number one!" Master Makarov then lifted his hand into the air, sticking out his pointer finger and thumb. Everyone cheered, following his lead, copying the same symbol he was.

* * *

Elaina smiled at the newly fresh Fairy Tail emblem on her right hand. Yes, it was in the same place Lucy had gotten hers, but the difference was that Elaina got hers in a lilac color instead of pink.

"There," Mirajane said. "Now you're an official member of the Fairy Tail Guild."

"Oh, thank you, Mirajane," Elaina said.

"You're welcome. And you can call me Mira." Elaina nodded.

"All right then, Mira." The brunette made her way to Natsu, who was standing in front of the request board with a bored expression on her face.

"Hey, Natsu," the girl said, holding out her hand in excitement. "Check it out. I got the Fairy Tail mark! It's official! I'm a member!"

"Congratulations," he said in a monotone voice. "Welcome to the guild, Elaina." The green eyed girl blinked in surprise. Natsu had actually said her name. If she remembered correctly, Natsu had gotten Lucy's name wrong. What was so special about Elaina that he had remembered her name?

"Make sure you pick one with a big reward, Natsu," Happy said to the pink haired boy, who was stilling looking for a new job to do.

"Whoa, 160,000 Jewel to get rid of some thieves?" Natsu said as he picked a job flier from the board.

"Sounds good to me."

"How come my dad hasn't come back yet?" Romeo Conbolt asked Master Makarov, who was drinking from a mug of beer. Master Makarov stopped and looked at the six year old boy.

"You're starting to work my nerves, Romeo," the Master said. "You're a wizard's son. Have faith in your father and wait patiently for him."

"But sir, he told me he'd be back in three days. And he's been gone for over a week now!" Elaina couldn't help but feel sorry for Romeo. She knew what it was like not having parents around at a young age. She had already decided that, like Lucy, she was gonna go with Natsu to Mount Hakobe to help look for Macao.

"If I remember correctly, he took the job on Mount Hakobe," Master Makarov said.

"That's right. And it's not that far from here, so why won't somebody go look for him?"

"Listen, kid, your old man's a wizard. And like every other wizard in this guild, he can take care of himself. Now go home, have some milk and cookies, and wait!"

"Jerk!" That's when Romeo punched the Master in the nose and then ran outside while yelling, "I hate you all!" as he cried.

"Poor kid," Elaina said.

"I know it sounds like the Master doesn't care, but he really is worried," Mira said. Elaina nodded as she watched Natsu shove the flier in his hand back onto the request board hard.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nab asked. "You almost broke the board, Natsu." The Master sighed as he and Elaina watched Natsu and Happy walk out of the guild. "This doesn't look good, Master. You know how he can be. I bet he's going up to Mount Hakobe to save Macao."

"When is that kid ever gonna grow up?" another wizard asked.

"Who knows? Going after Macao isn't gonna do anything except hurt his pride."

"Remember Nab, we can't choose another's path," the Master said. "Just leave him be."

"Natsu's pretty upset," Elaina said with a sad look in her eyes.

"He and Romeo have a lot in common," Mira said. Elaina looked at the barmaid. "I think he sees himself in Romeo. Just because we're members of Fairy Tail, it doesn't mean we don't have our own personal issues. We've all had our fair share of suffering and loss." Elaina wondered if Mira was thinking of Lisanna as she was saying this.

* * *

"Why'd you come with us?" Natsu asked in pain from his motion sickness as they rode a carriage to Mount Hakobe.

"I'm hoping that I could help," Elaina said. Natsu flopped down on the seat opposite of her. "I know what it's like to lose someone close to you." Natsu and Happy looked at her, but Elaina wasn't paying attention to them. She was remembering what Mira had said before she left.

 _Flashback:_

" _Many years ago, Natsu's father left and never came back," Mira said. "Well, technically, it wasn't his real father, but the one who raised him. He was actually a dragon."_

" _Natsu was really raised by a dragon, huh? I remember him saying he was looking for a dragon when we met in Hargeon." Mira nodded._

" _When he was a little boy, a dragon found him wandering the forest. He took him in and taught him all about language, culture, and magic. But one day, the dragon disappeared and never returned."_

" _That dragon must've been Igneel."_

" _That's right. And Natsu lives for the day when he'll finally see Igneel again. It's kinda cute, don't you think?"_

" _You don't think Natsu would mind if I went with him, do you?" Elaina asked Mira._

" _I don't think so. I'm sure if you hurry, you could catch up with him." Elaina smiled a bit at Mira before getting up from her seat and starting towards the door before stopping and looking back at Mira._

" _I know how he feels, how he and Romeo both feel. I know what it's like to lose your parents when you're just a little kid." And with that, Elaina ran as fast as she could to catch up with Natsu._

The halting of the carriage shook Elaina from her thoughts.

"I guess we're there," she said.

"All right!" Natsu said, suddenly feeling rejuvenated, and jumped up from his seat. "We've stopped moving!"

"I'm sorry, but this is as far as I can get you," the driver of the carriage said. The doors to the carriage opened and the trio were greeted by an enormous blizzard.

"Whoa!" Happy said as he had to hold onto the door so he wouldn't blow away.

"I guess we should start walking, huh?" Elaina asked, looking at the fire wizard.

* * *

The three trekked on through the raging winds of the blizzard. Elaina shivered, rubbing her hands on her upper arms, hoping and failing to create some heat to warm her up.

"Is it always like this in the summer?" Elaina asked, biting her lip.

"That's what you get for wearing light clothing," Natsu said.

"It was a split second decision. I would've been more prepared if I knew what it was going to be like." She shivered violently, feeling her knees knocking together. "You don't mind if I use your blanket, do you?"

"I guess so." Elaina smiled gratefully as she took the blanket from Natsu and wrapped herself as tightly as she could. It was slightly warm, not much, but enough for Elaina to feel slightly relieved.

"Thanks." Unlike what Lucy did, using Horologium to carry her through the snow, Elaina didn't call on the clock spirit. She continued trekking through the best she could.

"If you're that cold, what'd you tag along?" Natsu asked. Elaina bit her lip, trying to decide what to say. She had already told Mira that she had lost her parents so she suppose that it wouldn't have hurt to tell Natsu.

"Because I wasn't that much older than Romeo when I lost both my parents and I don't want him to go through the same thing I did. Besides, Macao's a Fairy Tail wizard and so am I. We look after each other, right?" Natsu nodded with a slight smile on his face. "So what kinda job had Macao way out here?

"You should have asked that before you came with us." Elaina shrugged.

"Wouldn't have changed my mind."

"He went to slay a Vulcan. It's a big monster." Elaina nodded before wincing as the wind blew.

"We should look for Macao and fast before the storm gets worse." Natsu nodded and they walked forward.

"Macao! Where are you?!" Natsu shouted.

"Macao!" Happy and Elaina yelled. Then out of nowhere, a Vulcan attacked them.

"That's a big Vulcan!" Happy said. The Vulcan sniffed before dashing to its left.

"Hey, wait!" Natsu said. The Vulcan stopped in front of Elaina, who shook in fear.

"Me like human woman," it said. Elaina whimpered, backing up slowly. Unfortunately, it grabbed her and started to take off with her.

"So it can talk, huh?" Natsu said as he watched the Vulcan leave with Elaina.

"Natsu!" she screamed, her voice cracking in fear.

* * *

The Vulcan brought Elaina to an ice cave, setting her down once they were inside. Elaina backed away as far away as possible from the beast. Just because she knew it was Macao doesn't mean it was any less scary for her. Elaina quivered in fear as the Vulcan towered over her.

"Hey, you big ape! Where's Macao?! Tell me!" Natsu shouted as he came flying into the cave. He ended up slipping on the icy cave floor, crashing into the cave wall. "Spill it, monkey. Where is my friend?"

"Huh?" the Vulcan said. Elaina quickly ran to Natsu's side.

"You understand me, right? He's a human man. Now tell me where he is."

"Man?"

"That's right. Where are you hiding him?"

"Man!" The Vulcan beckoned Natsu to follow him, pointing off the in the direction of the entrance to the cave.

"Hey, I think he's gonna show me." Natsu went to the entrance, sticking his head out. "Macao!" The Vulcan roughly pushed Natsu out.

"Natsu!" Elaina shouted.

"No like man," the Vulcan said. "Me like woman!" Then it started to chant 'woman'.

"All right. Looks like it's my turn." Elaina took off the blanket and took a golden key off her key ring. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!" The bull spirit appeared in front of her.

"It's nice to see you, Miss Elaina. You still got that nice body of yours. How about a smooch?" Elaina sighed.

"Taurus may be big and strong and is the strongest out of all my celestial spirits, but he's probably one of the biggest perverts I've ever met."

"No touch my woman!" the Vulcan said.

"Your woman? Them's fighting words, you moo-nkey."

"Go get him, Taurus," Elaina said. Taurus grabbed the axe on his back, slamming the blade into the ground to create a ripple effect with the ground debris. Unfortunately, the Vulcan dodged the attack. The Vulcan was about to attack Taurus, when Natsu appeared and kicked Taurus in the face, leaving the bull spirit down for the count. "Natsu!"

"Hey," the pink haired boy said. "So how come there are more monsters now than when I left?"

"Taurus isn't a monster, Natsu," Elaina explained. "He's one of my celestial spirits."

"That guy?" Natsu looked over at the Vulcan.

"No, Natsu, the other one, the bull. Hang on for a second, though, how'd you manage to get back here? Didn't you take like a serious fall?" Natsu looked back at her and grinned.

"Happy came to save me." Natsu looked at the blue cat that hovered above them. "Thanks, little buddy."

"Aye," Happy said.

"I almost forgot that you could fly, Happy," Elaina said, smiling at him.

"My woman!" the Vulcan said, lunging to attack Natsu, who stopped him easily.

"You listen up," the pink haired Dragon Slayer said. "I consider everyone in the Fairy Tail Guild my friend." The Vulcan kicked Natsu back a few feet, but Natsu was still standing. "Whether it's Gramps and Mira, or even those annoying jerks Gray and Elfman." The Vulcan started to charge and a glowing magic circle appeared at Natsu's feet. "Happy and Elaina too. They're all my friends. Which is why I'm not leaving without Macao!" Natsu gave the Vulcan a flaming kick to the gut. However, the Vulcan was still standing and sent an ice attack, causing Elaina to dodge so she wouldn't be hit. "Your ice attack has no effect on fire."

"Oh boy," Elaina said, seeing the Vulcan holding Taurus's axe.

"That's not good."

"Please be careful, Miss Elaina," Taurus said in a daze. Natsu kept dodging the axe as the Vulcan swung it. That is until Natsu slipped on the icy cave floor. Elaina gasped just as Natsu stopped the axe, the blade being between his two hands.

"Taurus, you gotta go back," Elaina said, seeing Natsu struggle with the pressure the Vulcan put on the axe. "Your axe will go back with you." Then she watched as Natsu heated up the axe with his hands, consuming the drops of melted metal.

"Oh yeah, now I got some fire in my belly," Natsu said before he spit out of little balls of metal that were in his mouth, pelting the Vulcan with them. Then Natsu attacked the Vulcan with his Fire Dragon Iron Fist, defeating the beast.

"We beat him!" Happy said.

"Yeah, we did, but wasn't it supposed to tell us where Macao is?" Elaina asked.

"Oh," Natsu said, remembering why he was fighting the Vulcan in the first place. "Forgot about that." Then Elaina remembered that this was the moment that the Vulcan turned back to Macao. And it happened. The Vulcan glowed brightly, blinding them for a moment. "What the heck was that?" In the Vulcan's place was a beaten up Macao. "Macao?"

"So Macao was the Vulcan after all."

"Yeah, he must have been taken over by that Vulcan," Happy said.

"Taken over?"

"It must have used a possession spell on him. You see, Vulcans survive by stealing people's bodies and taking them over. They're evil body snatchers."

"Well, in any case, he's hurt." Elaina looked at Natsu. "You have medical supplies in your backpack, right, Natsu?" He nodded and went to grab the supplies. They set Macao on Natsu's blanket and Elaina started to treat his wounds.

"It looks like he put up a good fight before that Vulcan finally got to him though," Happy said.

"Macao, don't you die on me," Natsu said to the unconscious man. "Romeo's waiting for you. Open your eyes!" That must have done the trick because Macao opened his eyes that very moment.

"Natsu?" the man said.

"You're okay." Elaina smiled with relief.

"I'm so pathetic. I defeated 19 of those brutes. But the 20th, that's the one that got me. I'm so angry with myself. I'm embarrassed to go home and face Romeo."

"Don't be like that. Come on, man. You beat 19 monsters." Natsu held out his hand and Macao took it. "Now let's go home. Your little boy's been waiting for you."

Elaina watched the two wizards, smiling at the friendship the two had. She only wished that she could create bonds like that with the guild now that she joined.

* * *

"Hey Romeo!" Natsu called out to the six year old boy as he, Elaina, Happy, and Macao started walking towards him. Romeo looked up and his eyes widened as he saw his father being supported by Natsu.

"Dad!" Romeo exclaimed as he jumped on his father, knocking Macao down. Macao righted himself and hugged his son. "You came back. I'm so sorry, Dad."

"No, I'm sorry for making you worry," Macao apologized.

"I can handle it 'cause I'm a wizard's son."

"Next time those bullies pick on you, here's what I want you to say. 'Can your old man defeat 19 monster all by himself? 'Cause mine can.'" Elaina smiled as she, Natsu, and Happy started to walk away.

"Natsu!" Romeo called out to the retreated trio. "Happy! Thanks for your help!"

"No prob, kiddo," Natsu said.

"Aye," Happy added.

"Elaina, thanks for helping them bring my daddy back to me!" Romeo called to the brunette.

"It was my pleasure, Romeo," she called back as she turned around and waved to the boy. She turned back around and looked at Natsu and Happy. "Well, I'm gonna go grab my things from the guildhall and find an inn for the night. I've got apartment hunting to do in the morning."

"You could just stay with me and Happy," Natsu offered as they appraoced the guildhall.

"Thanks, but I don't wanna intrude. I'll be fine, really." She started walking into the building before turning back slightly, giving the cat and Dragon Slayer a wave and a smile. "I'll see you guys later." Natsu smiled at the girl's retreating back as she slipped inside.

* * *

 **And there's the end of chapter 2. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope to have another chapter up as soon as I can. Luckily, I'm currently on spring break. Unfortunately, I still have homework to complete, but I'm not gonna let that stop me!**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please review!**


	4. Infiltrate the Everlue Mansion

**OH MY GOD! I'M SOOOOO SOOOOO SORRY FOR BEING SO LATE! When summer started last month my motivation really** **plummeted and then came the doctor's appointments and hospital visits because I have something going on with my thyroid. And then I got a boyfriend mid-May so I've been spending my time with him. For the record, he's a Fairy Tail fan so it's nice to be able to talk to him about this :)**

 **Anyway, if you guys hate me, I understand completely. I just hope you haven't given up on me or this story. *gets down on hands and knees and begs for forgiveness***

 **I hope you guys enjoy this latest addition of Elaina's Fairy Tail journey! Out of all the chapters so far, this was the longest I typed up. Just over 16 1/2 pages!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, its characters or its plot. Because if I did, I would be living in Fairy Tail if I could.**

* * *

Elaina took a deep breath and stretched as she got out of her bathtub. She hadn't had such a relaxing bath since she was a little girl.

With the help of Mira, Elaina managed to get a nice apartment not far from the guildhall. She did consider living in the girls' dorms, Fairy Hills, but at the price of 100,000 Jewel a month, Elaina decided that would be a last resort. She managed to find an apartment for 70,000 Jewel a month. To be honest, it was the apartment that Lucy was supposed to be living in. Everything was the same from the bedspread to the arrangement of the furniture to the decorating, only Elaina had put up pictures of her parents and other small things that she had found in the suitcase.

The suitcase…whatever anime god granted her wish had to be the one to send that suitcase with her for it was stored underneath her bed. Not to mention a good majority of her clothes from the orphanage had been in there as well, plus a few articles of clothing that Elaina knew weren't hers.

Elaina sighed as she dried her hair, looking at herself in the mirror. Being thrown into another world obviously hadn't changed her appearance. Her brown hair was still straight and still ended at the middle of her back. Her skin was still fair, though a bit pale like always, and her green eyes were the same as ever. Elaina had always loved her eyes because she had inherited them from her mother. When she was a little girl, many had said that Elaina looked just like her mother, only with brown hair, which she had inherited from her father.

"Well, my guess is Natsu and Happy should be here by now," she said to herself. "I just hope they didn't make a mess." She made sure the towel around her was secured before walking into her bedroom. Not to her surprise, Natsu and Happy were there. The only good thing was that there wasn't much of a mess, like there had been in the show. Natsu just sat in her armchair, munching on a bag of potato chips, and Happy was sitting on her coffee table, eating a fish.

"Uh, hi," Elaina said to the wizard and his cat. "What're you guys doing here?" Natsu looked at her, noticing she was just in a towel, and his cheeks turned a bit pink, which confused the Dragon Slayer greatly.

Sure, when he first met her he thought that Elaina was beautiful, though he never really gave it much thought. Now seeing her in a towel…well, let's just say it stirred up some feelings that he had never felt before.

"Uh…" was all that came out of Natsu's mouth as his eyes trailed down her figure unconsciously. Elaina noticed what Natsu was doing and tried her best to cover herself while still keeping her towel around her body as her cheeks turned red.

"W-w-what are y-you guys d-d-doing here, N-Natsu?" Elaina stuttered. Natsu broke his stare from her, finally getting a grip on himself.

"I just came over to check out your new pad," he said, speaking clearly despite him checking her out just a second ago.

"Aye," Happy added.

"Well, as much as I appreciate the visit, you two, I'd appreciate it more if you didn't break in," Elaina said. "You guys could've walked in on me changing." Natsu's face turned a bit redder at the thought of walking in on Elaina changing.

"Nice place you got here," Happy said. Elaina was just surprised that Happy wasn't scratching his nails on the wall like he did with Lucy. Not that she was complaining really. She preferred having her apartment in one piece.

"Thanks. Now I'm gonna go change and—Natsu, don't look at that!" She grabbed the papers that Natsu had picked up from her desk out of his hand. She held them closely to her chest.

"Huh? What is it?" he asked

"I-it's nothing, okay?" Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment.

"So you're getting upset over nothing?" Elaina nodded.

"Yep. Now, please, don't touch anything while I go change." She put the papers back on the desk and grabbed some clothes before going back into the bathroom.

"Was it just me or was Natsu blushing?" she asked herself softly. Then she shook her head. "Nah, it was probably my imagination."

* * *

Now dressed in gray lounge pants, a blue t-shirt, and hair pulled back into a ponytail, Elaina sat at her table with Natsu and Happy.

"Don't get me wrong, you guys, but a little warning next time would be nice," she said. "It's just…I've never had anyone want to come over to my house before."

"Really?" Natsu asked. Elaina nodded her head.

"Yeah. The downsides to living in an orphanage." She turned her gaze to the table, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. Luckily, Natsu decided to change the subject.

"Hey, I know. Why don't you show me and Happy all those weird little key guys that you like to collect?" Elaina let out a light giggle.

"They're called celestial spirits, Natsu, and I don't collect them, I make contracts with them."

"How many of these celestial spirits do you have contracts with?" Happy asked.

"So far, I have six spirits that I have contracts with." Elaina held up her keyring. "I even have different types of them. You can find the silvers keys in the magic shops. So far I have Horologium the Clock, Crux the Southern Cross, and Lyra the Harp. The golden ones, though, they're the super rare ones. There are 12 of them and they open up the gates of the zodiac. I've only got three so far; Taurus the Golden Bull, Aquarius the Water Bearer, and Cancer the Giant Crab."

"Giant crab?!" Natsu said with a hungry look on his face. Happy had the same look on his face.

"Giant crab legs!" the blue cat said.

"Sorry, you two, but you can't eat my spirit. Oh, that reminds me. I need to make a contract with the key I bought in Hargeon." She got up from her seat. "You guys wanna see me make a contract with a celestial spirit?" That caught Natsu and Happy's attention.

"I hope it's not some grotty blood pact," Happy unsuccessfully whispered to Natsu.

"Well, it sounds like a pain in the butt to me," Natsu whispered back.

"I can hear you guys." Elaina took out her newest key. In reality, she was a bit nervous as this would be her first time making a contract. "Here goes." She took a deep breath and recited the words Lucy had said, "I call upon thee in the world of the celestial spirits. I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the gate. Open, Gate of Canis Minor. Come, Nikora." The little dog spirit appeared.

"Nice try," Happy and Natsu said, thinking that Elaina failed into summoning the spirit.

"No, guys, that's the spirit." Elaina knelt down in front of the spirit and smiled. "Hello there. Aren't you the cutest?"

"You think so?" Natsu asked. Elaina looked at him.

"It doesn't take much magic to these little ones through the gate so a lot of wizards keep them as pets. Me, not so much. My spirits are my friends, not pets." She turned back to her spirit. "Anyway, let's get started with that contract." She grabbed a notepad and a pencil. "Are you free Mondays?" The spirit shook his head and Elaina wrote that down. "How about Tuesdays?" He nodded his head and Elaina kept writing. "Wednesdays?" This continued on as Natsu and Happy watched in boredom.

"Well, I think we're all done here," Elaina said, standing up from the floor once she was done.

"That's was easy," Happy said.

"I guess it was, but contracts between celestial wizards and their spirits are important. It's like an unbreakable promise. And to be honest, I've never broken any promise I've made and I'm gonna continue keeping the promises I make." She turned back to the spirit. "Now all I gotta do is come up with a name for you, little guy."

"Isn't it Nikora?"

"No, that's the species." Elaina pretended to think long and hard about this when in reality, she was just going to name him Plue like Lucy because that name suited him. "I got it. I'm gonna name you Plue."

"Plue, huh?" Natsu and Happy said. Elaina smiled.

"Yeah. I've been known to create some pretty weird names."

"Are you sure he's cool with that?" Natsu asked.

"I guess you have a point. So what do you think?" Elaina looked down at Plue. "You think Plue is a good name?" Plue nodded. "See, he's okay with it."

"So even though his sign is the Little Dog, he doesn't bark?" Happy asked. "That's kinda weird."

"No offense, Happy, but you're a cat that doesn't meow." Plue started twirling and hopping from one foot to the next.

"Oh, man, you're right about that, Plue," Natsu said. Then he just stared at Elaina.

"Natsu, no offense and all, but you're being a bit creepy," she said as she backed away from him slightly.

"All right, then it's settled," he said. "You're both gonna be a part of our team."

"Go team!" Happy cheered.

"Your team?" Elaina questioned.

"Aye, even though everybody in the guild is allied to one another, some members that get along really well get together and form teams within the guild. That way, jobs that may be too hard for one person to take can get done by a team."

"Okay then. I'll be a part of your team." She and Natsu did a handshake.

"Cool, so you're gonna work with us?" the pink haired boy asked.

"Yep and that's a promise."

"Right on," Happy said, jumping up with Plue.

"Okay, team, then let's get to work," Natsu said. "I've got our first job right here." He held up a job flier. Elaina took the flier from him to get a better look.

"Okay, so it's in Shirotsume. Oh, wow, 200,000 Jewel just to take a book from some rich guy named Duke Everlue."

"Should be a piece of cake, right?" Then Elaina spotted a note on the flier.

"'Please note: Everlue's a dirty old man who's currently looking for maids with brown hair.'"

"We know a brown haired girl, don't we?" Natsu said to Happy.

"Yep, and I bet we can find her a maid's uniform," the cat said. Elaina sighed.

"I'll admit that was pretty sneaky of you guys. You could've just asked instead of me finding out this way. I'd be more incline to do it. But a promise is a promise and I'm not gonna go back on it."

"Huh? I thought you'd complain about it." Elaina shrugged.

"What's the point? It'd be a waste of my energy and I already promised you guys that I'd be a part of your team and do this job with you. It wouldn't exactly be fair if I went back on it, would it?"

"All right," Natsu said. "Now try getting into character and address Happy here as your master." Elaina shook her head.

"No offense, Happy, but I'm not doing that." Then she blushed as she thought, _It's bad enough I'll be wearing that maid's uniform._

* * *

Instead of mockingly calling Happy her master like Lucy had done, Elaina just stared out the window of the carriage. She was the quiet and sensitive type, not one for teasing people as she never had friends to actually tease and have fun with.

"Is something wrong, Elaina?" Happy asked while Natsu laid across in his seat, looking as sick as usual. The brunette looked at the blue cat.

"Nothing's wrong. Why? What's up?"

"You just seem down. Is it because Natsu and I tricked you into doing this job with us?" Elaina shook her head.

"No, it's not that, Happy. I promise. I guess…I was just thinking about my old life before I joined Fairy Tail."

"What was your life like before you joined the guild?" The question got Natsu's attention as he looked over at the girl.

"My parent's died in a house fire when I was eight and from then on I was living in an orphanage. Not much to tell really." She didn't tell them about being from a different world and that they were just characters from a series from where she was from. No, Elaina was enjoying her life for once, something she hadn't felt in nine years. She wasn't about to ruin that for her.

"I'm sorry about your parents," Happy said.

"It's all right, I guess. It's been nine years, but I'll admit the pain doesn't go away. It's just a dull ache." Elaina decided to change the subject while Happy munched on some fish. "Anyway, I've got a question for you, Natsu."

"What's up?" the Dragon Slayer asked.

"Well, I was wondering why you picked me to join your team."

"'Cause you seem like a nice person." Elaina blushed at the compliment while giving him a small smile.

"Thanks." Elaina went back to looking out the window the carriage.

 _I've never felt this happy before,_ she thought with that smile on her face. _Not even when I was a kid with my parents. It feels like I really belong here, in Fairy Tail. It feels nice. Better than nice even. It's like I'm so giddy all the time and I wanna smile and laugh and not have a care in the world._ Then she frowned slightly. _I'm just worried about Amelia, Ophelia, and Julie. I left them all alone at the orphanage. I hope Miss Riley isn't giving them such a hard time. I'd hate for her to hurt them like she did me._

* * *

Once they reached their destination, Shirotsume Town, the three got out of the carriage and started to walk through town.

"That's the last time I'm riding in one of those," Natsu said, slouching forward.

"You say that every time," Happy pointed out.

"Man, I'm starving."

"I know you can eat fire, so can't you just eat the fire you produce with magic?" Elaina asked, though she already knew the answer. She just wanted to see if he would answer question the same way he answered Lucy.

"Oh, yeah, that's a great idea," he said to her in a grumpy, sarcastic tone. "Why don't you just eat Plue or your cow while we're at it?" Elaina bit her lip and looked down as they continued walking. She knew Natsu was just hungry and grumpy from the carriage ride, but that didn't mean his tone of voice hurt any less.

"You could've just said you couldn't eat your own fire, Natsu," she said softly as they approached a restaurant.

"Whoa, let's stop and get a bite," the pink haired boy said in a much better mood.

"I'm all right, you guys," Elaina said as she walked away to put on the maid's uniform. "You two go ahead without me."

"What is it with her?" Natsu asked. "We should be eating together as a team."

"I think you hurt her feelings when you told her to go eat her spirits," Happy said. "You clearly don't anything about women."

"I didn't mean it."

"Doesn't mean it didn't bother her any less. You gotta watch how you say things, Natsu." Natsu frowned.

"Whatever. Let's just go eat."

* * *

"Make sure you save all the fat stuff for Elaina," Natsu said with a mouth full of food.

"Yeah, from the looks of her, she's a bit skinny," Happy said. Natsu stopped eating for a brief moment.

Now that Happy brought it up, he did notice that Elaina was a bit on the skinny side. Only it didn't look healthy. It looked like she was starving herself and as her guild and teammate, Natsu was a bit concerned. However, Elaina did say she lived in an orphanage before joining the guild. Perhaps there wasn't a lot of food to feed everyone.

"You think I'm skinny?" Elaina said as she walked up to the two. They stopped eating to look at her.

"Hey," Natsu said. "Elaina?" He saw that she was wearing the maid's uniform. It consisted of a white blouse with puffy sleeves and ruffle edges, black skirt with a ruffled edge that reached the middle of her thigh, a black waist coat, white apron, white thigh high stockings, black dress shoes, and a white ruffled head band. Elaina had pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and tied it together with a white bow.

"So what do you guys think?" Elaina asked quietly, her arms crossed behind her back. She felt insecure and self-conscious as the two stared at her.

"What do we do?" Happy whispered to Natsu. "We were joking about the costume, but she took it seriously."

"I guess we're just gonna have to go along with it. Don't say anything, okay?" Natsu whispered back, getting that feeling again in his stomach that he had felt before when he visited Elaina in her apartment. He looked down at her legs that were very visible thanks to the length of the skirt.

"I can hear you, you guys," Elaina said before she sighed. "Joke or no joke, I'm trying to get in as a maid. I might as well look the part. Now we should go see the client."

* * *

"My name's Kaby Melon," the client said to the trio that sat in front of him. "Pleased to meet you."

"He said Melon," Happy said, drool coming from his mouth.

"Oh man, you have a tasty name," Natsu said, drool also coming from his mouth.

"Guys, stop being rude," Elaina scolded the two. Mr. Melon laughed.

"Don't worry," he said. "I get that a lot. Well, first things first. Allow me to tell you about the job."

"Go on," Happy said.

"It's pretty straight forward, really. Duke Everlue has a book called "Daybreak" in his possession. I would like you to burn it for me."

"No prob," Natsu said, lighting the tip of his finger. "I'll burn down the whole place down if you want."

"He likes fire," Happy said.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Elaina said. "I'd rather not go to jail for arson thank you very much." She turned to Mr. Melon. "However, may I ask why, sir?"

"For 200,000 Jewel, who the heck cares?" Natsu said.

"The reward has be raised to 2 million," Mr. Melon said.

"2 million?!" the trio said. Though Elaina knew about the reward being raised, that was still a lot of money.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were aware the amount had changed."

"2 million split three ways?" Natsu said, trying to make the calculations. "Wow! I stink at math, but that's a lot!"

"Wait, I got it!" Happy said. Elaina waited for him to say that she got nothing. "All three of us would get around 667,000 each." Elaina blinked in surprised that she was included in the cut. Lucy wasn't included in the series.

"Seems fair to me," Natsu said. Elaina nodded in agreement.

"Why'd you raise the reward anyway?" Elaina asked Mr. Melon.

"Well, because it means that much to me," he said. "That book must be destroyed, no matter the cost." Then Natsu's head caught on fire.

"Oh yeah!" the pink haired Dragon Slayer exclaimed. "I am fired up now." He grabbed Elaina's wrist and dragged her out of the mansion with Happy following them. "Let's do this, Elaina."

"Slow down, Natsu!" Elaina said, trying to get Natsu to slow down his pace.

* * *

Soon Elaina found herself in front of Duke Everlue's mansion. Natsu and Happy were hiding behind a tree.

"Excuse me," Elaina said loudly. "I heard you had an opening for a maid position. Hello?"

"Don't screw up, okay?" Natsu whispered to her.

"Break a leg," Happy said with encouragement. Then a hole opened up next to Elaina, causing her to back up, and an extremely large woman with pink hair pulled back into pigtails, wearing a maid's uniform, jumped out and landed in front of the brunette.

"So you're a maid?" the woman said in a deep voice.

"Yes," Elaina squeaked out.

"I assume you're here 'cause you saw the ad that the master placed in the paper."

"Boyoyoyo," a voice said as a man jumped out of the hole. "Did I hear someone say 'master'?" Elaina tried not to grimace as she looked at the man, Duke Everlue, and his mustache that was coming out of his nose. "Let's see here." Elaina bit her lip and tried not to fidget as she felt somewhat violated by his intense stare. "I'll pass. Now scram, ugly." That was a stab at Elaina's already low self-esteem. The maid picked up Elaina.

"You heard the man," she said. "Get going, ugly." Another stab at Elaina's self-esteem.

"Sorry, but a man of my standing has certain standards to uphold." Four more maids, all not being the most attractive women, came up from the ground. "That's why I only hire the fairest of the fair."

 _This guy's standing on fair is really messed up,_ Elaina thought as the maids praised the man. The maid tossed Elaina to the side and the girl went back to Natsu and Happy, slumping to the ground.

"Just couldn't do it, could you?" Natsu said.

"I tried," Elaina said quietly as she hugged her knees to her chest. "I really did."

"I'm sure you did," Happy said reassuringly. Natsu brought his fist to the palm of his other hand.

"Okay, I guess we'll have to resort to old Plan T," the Dragon Slayer said.

"Huh? Plan T? What's that?" Elaina asked.

"Take 'em by storm," Happy said.

"Can't say that's much of a plan." She sighed and grabbed the spare clothes she brought along. "I'm gonna change quickly." She went to go behind a tree to change, but paused briefly. "Natsu, you don't think I'm ugly, do you?" The pink haired boy looked at her.

"Huh?" he said in confusion. "Where'd that come from?"

"It's nothing. Just…Everlue called me that…and I wanted to know if it was true." Natsu scoffed.

"Don't listen to what that guy says. You're pretty." While he said it nonchalantly, Natsu's cheeks started to turn a slight pink. Elaina turned around and looked at him, giving him a small, closed eye smile.

"Thanks, Natsu." Then she turned around and went to change.

* * *

"Whoopsie daisy," Happy said as he let Elaina, now dressed in gray shorts, a red t-shirt, a belt that held her whip and her keys, hair left down and black sandals, down on her feet.

"Thanks, Happy," she said as she steadied herself. The three were now on the roof of the mansion. Natsu had already melted the glass of a window pane so they could get inside. Happy landed next to her.

"Aye."

"Geez," Natsu said, turning to look at the brunette. "This isn't really taking 'em by storm, you know. I think we should've just busted right in through the front door." Elaina sighed.

"If we did that, we'd probably go to jail," she said.

"Yeah, but I thought you'd like to get revenge on this guy."

"Not really. I know that it's his opinion of what he thinks of me and I shouldn't let it bother me. It's all about what I think of myself that matters. So let's just get the book and burn it."

Natsu and Happy looked at her with surprised looks on their faces. If anyone called them names, they would for sure want some sort of revenge. Natsu had to give Elaina some credit about keeping her cool. He turned his attention to the window and opened it, allowing the three to go inside.

"Oh wow," Elaina said, looking around the room they entered. "Must be a storage room or something."

"Rawr!" Happy said, popping out in front of her with a skull on his head. Elaina squeaked in surprised, bringing her hands to her chest like that would keep her heart from jumping out of it. "Check me out!"

"Yeah," Natsu said with a smile. "You're looking fierce, Happy."

"Let's just go look for that book," Elaina said, finally calming down.

And so they search…and came up with nothing. They couldn't find that book.

"Are we gonna have to search every room in this whole stinking place?" Natsu asked as they crept along.

"More than likely," Elaina said.

"I think we should take a hostage and force them to tell us where the book is."

"Aye," Happy agreed, still wearing that skull.

"We're trying not to get caught, you guys," Elaina said. "You gotta be stealthy, like a ninja."

"Like a real ninja," Natsu said, getting this spaced out look on his face. All of a sudden, the four maids from before came out from the floor.

"Intruder alert, Virgo!" they said.

"Let's crush 'em, girls," the giant maid said.

"Ah!" Happy shouted, scaring the four maids.

"Ninja power!" Natsu shouted, punching the four away with a fiery fist.

"Flying Virgo Attack!" the giant maid said before belly flopping on Natsu.

"Oh no!" Happy and Elaina said before the girl turned to the blue cat.

"You can take that mask off now, Happy," she said. Natsu managed to stand up, holding the maid above, before delivering a flaming kick at her. The pink haired Dragon Slayer landed on his feet with his scarf wrapped around his head like a ninja's mask.

"We mustn't let ourselves be discovered," he said in a "ninja" voice with his hands doing this weird gesture. "We are ninja."

"Ninja," Happy repeated from his spot on Natsu's shoulder, the mask off now.

"Ninjas are quiet, you two, and you're being the exact opposite," Elaina said with a sigh before the three continued to look for the book.

Just their luck they happened to have come across the library.

"Whoa, there are many books in this library," Natsu said, still doing the ninja pose and voice.

"Aye, there are, indeed," Happy agreed, copying him.

"Oh wow," Elaina said, eyes shining as she looked at the books. "Who would've thought that Everlue was such a bookworm?"

"Let's start looking," Natsu said, scarf now around his neck and voice back to what it was before.

"Aye sir," Happy said. They went to the book shelfs and started their search. Elaina groaned from her position on the ladder as she looked at one of the higher shelves.

"How are we gonna find that book when there's so many?" she asked herself before looking down at Natsu and Happy, who go distracted by the different books they found. Elaina couldn't help herself, she giggled.

"Check out this one!" Natsu exclaimed, holding up a book that sparkled and had a golden cover. "It's sparkly." Elaina took a look at the book in his hand and gasped.

"That's 'Daybreak'," she exclaimed.

"Have we been here that long?" Happy asked.

"No, that's the book we've been looking for!"

"Natsu found it."

"I did?" pink haired wizard in question asked. "Let's spark it up." Natsu's fist was on fire.

"That was so easy."

"Hold on," Elaina said, taking the book from Natsu, remembering that the book wasn't burned at all. Noticing the looks she was getting from Natsu and Happy, she quickly stuttered the line Lucy used, hoping they would believe it, "I didn't realize this was written by Kemu Zaleon."

"Zale-what?" Natsu questioned.

"Zaleon. He was a great wizard and a fantastic writer. I really like his work." During what little spare time she had to herself so far, Elaina had read a novel of his that she found in that mysterious suitcase of hers and found the book to be quite enjoyable. Looking down at the book, she said, "This must be an unpublished novel of his."

"Oh yeah?" Natsu lit the tip of his finger. "Who cares? It all burns the same to me." Elaina hugged the book to her chest.

"You can't. This book…you just can't burn it, Natsu."

"But what about our mission?" Happy asked. Elaina bit her lip. She just couldn't tell them why the book needed to be unscathed so she would just have to say something without giving anything away.

"Just trust me, you guys, please," she begged, holding the book tighter. "It's important that we don't burn this book."

"And how do you know that?" Natsu asked.

"I-I-I can't tell you that, not yet at least." She looked Natsu in the eye and he could see that she was serious about not burning the book. She said softly, "You just have to trust on this, please."

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Duke Everlue's voice rang out, interrupting their conversation. He came up through the floor behind Happy and Natsu. "So you thieves are looking to pilfer 'Daybreak' from me, are you? Boyoyo."

"See, slowpoke, this is all your fault," Natsu said, pointing at Everlue.

"I'm sorry," Elaina said quietly, shying back a bit.

"Don't you think it'd been way easier just to come through the door?" Happy asked.

"I knew all you lowlife wizard types were coming around here to take something of mine," Everlue said. "I never would have guessed it was that stupid book."

"Stupid?" Natsu repeated. Elaina clutched the book so tight her knuckles were turning white. She knew just how important this book was, what its true contents were, and she was determined to give the client this last remaining item of his father's.

"Well, if the book is so stupid, then you wouldn't mind if we just took it," she said in a shaky voice.

"It's mine!" Everlue exclaimed in protest. "You can't have it so get your grubby hands off!"

"Would you hand over that book and let me get this over with?" Natsu said, lighting his hand on fire again.

"Just trust me on this, Natsu," the brunette said to him. "In the end, you'll be glad you didn't burn this book."

"And how do you know that?" he demanded, raising his voice a bit at her. Natsu was getting annoyed at her vague reasoning for not burning the book and completing their job.

"I can't tell you that." Elaina raised her voice too. "Not yet, so you're gonna just have to suck it up." Natsu was taken back by her words as they were out of character for the shy girl.

"I've had enough," Everlue said, interrupting their conversation. "How dare you put your filthy hands on my possessions. Now, come forth, Vanish Brothers." Two bookcases split open, showing two men.

"You called upon us, sir?" the shorter of the two asked.

"Can you believe that these little punks are from the Fairy Tail Guild?" the other one said. "Talk about a bunch of runts."

"That sign means they're from the Southern Wolves," Happy said, looking at the guild symbol on their armbands. "It's a mercenary guild."

"So you got bodyguards, do you?" Natsu said, cracking his knuckles. All while this was going on, Elaina decided to take a peek at the book in her hands.

"Boyoyoyo, the Southern Wolves are always hungry for fresh game," Everlue said, twisting his mustache between his finger and thumb. "Say your prayers, thieves."

"Natsu, try and hold them off for a while," Elaina said, looking at the Dragon Slayer. "I was right about this book being important. It's got some sort of secret and I'm just starting to piece it together more clearly." That last part was really a lie, but if it got her more time, then so be it.

"Right," Natsu said before the girl took off.

 _Natsu, I know I can't give you the answers you want, but I'm glad you trust me enough to let me do is. That's why I put my trust and belief in you to win your fight against those two._

* * *

Elaina managed to find her way down to the sewers below the mansion. She hunkered down and pulled out her Gale-Force Reading Glasses, another item she found in the suitcase. With those glasses on, she quickly managed to read through the book.

"Oh, wow," Elaina said to herself. "I knew a bit about what this book held, but I never paid attention to the detail. This is incredible." Just then, Everlue busted through the wall Elaina was leaning against, holding her arms behind her back.

"Well then, please share," he said. "Secrets don't make friends, you know."

"No way in hell am I telling you. You doesn't deserve to know what it is." Elaina grimaced in pain as Everlue pulled on her arms more, hurting not only her arms, but her shoulders a bit as well.

 _Natsu, please hurry._

* * *

 **There it is, you guys! I hope you guys enjoyed reading! I'm gonna start working on the next chapter, but I can't tell you when I'll be able to post it.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys leave a review! Until next time!**


	5. Dear Kaby

**I'm still alive everyone! I'm sorry for taking so long in updating. I really am.**

 **Summer has been so hectic. I got two new puppies and boy do they have so much energy. Anyway, I have a new chapter for all of you! I really hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: as usual, I don't own anything remotely Fairy Tail. Just Elaina and anything you don't recognize.**

* * *

 **Previously:**

 _Elaina managed to find her way down to the sewers below the mansion. She hunkered down and pulled out her Gale-Force Reading Glasses, another item she found in the suitcase. With those glasses on, she quickly managed to read through the book._

" _Oh, wow," Elaina said to herself. "I knew a bit about what this book held, but I never paid attention to the detail. This is incredible." Just then, Everlue busted through the wall Elaina was leaning against, holding her arms behind her back._

" _Well then, please share," he said. "Secrets don't make friends, you know."_

" _No way in hell am I telling you. You doesn't deserve to know what it is." Elaina grimaced in pain as Everlue pulled on her arms more, hurting not only her arms, but her shoulders a bit as well._

 _Natsu, please hurry._

* * *

Elaina cried out as Everlue bent her body forward to get a look at the book still in her hand.

"What secret does it hold?" he said. "Let me guess, he buried his fortune and there's a treasure map hidden inside. Tell me or I'll snap your arm like a toothpick."

"Not gonna happen," Elaina said through the pain she was feeling before sticking her tongue out. She never felt so bold before. Maybe Natsu was already rubbing off on her.

"Boyo." Then Elaina found herself on her knees with her head on the floor and butt in the air, arms still painfully pinned behind her back. "Now is not the time to get sassy. Listen, I myself commissioned this book's very creation. Therefore, any secret it holds is rightfully my property!" Elaina turned her head slightly to her left, just in time to see Happy fly feet first into Everlue's face.

"Happy!" Elaina exclaimed with joy. "That was awesome." Then Happy's wings disappeared and he landed in the sewer water.

"What's this?" Everlue said. "A flying cat?"

"The name's Happy," Happy said, though it came out more like a gurgle as Happy's mouth was in the water.

"You probably shouldn't stay in that water, Happy," Elaina said, scrunching her nose up.

"But the water feels so good."

"That's sewer water, Happy." Elaina sighed before grabbing Cancer's key and holding it before her. "The tables have turned now. Not sure if I should go easy on you after what you done. If anything, you deserve a good smack and maybe more."

"Oh," Everlue said. "A celestial wizard. But for a reader, you seem to be a bit deficient in your terms of phrase. 'The tables have turned' implies that the weaker party has rallied to claim victory. But there's no way you and that cat could ever defeat me and my diver magic. Boyoyoyoyo!" Then he dove into the floor.

"So he does that using magic?" Happy asked, now out of the icky sewer water. "I had no idea Everlue was a wizard too." Elaina caught of whiff of the stench coming from Happy.

"You seriously need a bath when we get back home, Happy," she said, scrunching her nose again. Then she quickly dodged as Everlue came up next to her, making a grab for the book. She dodged again and again as Everlue made attempts for the book. "I know the whole story, you know. It's a horrible adventure novel about a trashy little character named Duke Everlue."

"You serious?"

"I don't know that I'd call the protagonist 'trashy', but yes," Everlue said before disappearing into the floor and then worm his way into the ceiling. "The story itself is crap. And to think it was written by the great Kemu Zaleon." Elaina gasped as Everlue popped out. "Inexcusable!" She dodged again and then again.

"I can't believe you're that arrogant," Elaina said. "You forced him to write it!"

"Arrogant, moi? The word doesn't begin to apply. To tell my story's an honor, no matter what the circumstances."

"Oh yeah? Then why'd you have to blackmail him to do it?"

"Blackmail?" Happy repeated.

"What's the big deal?" Everlue said, coming out behind Elaina, causing her to turn around. "He just needed some extra encouragement to take the job."

"Oh really?" Then Everlue started to swim in the floor.

"Any fool would have jumped at the chance to have me as their muse. But he had the audacity to say no." Everlue dove down into the floor. "So I have him the added inspiration in the form of an ultimatum." Happy and Elaina turned around again. "Write the novel or his family would be stripped of their citizenship."

"But then none of them would be able to join any of the guilds and make a living," Happy said. "Do you really have the power to do that?"

"I have the power to do anything." Everlue popped up underneath them, making the two get out of the way. "I got him to write it, didn't I? But I didn't like his attitude, so I decided he'd do best writing from a prison cell. Boyoyo. He went on and on about being a brilliant novelist who would never give into threats, but in the end I got what I wanted!" Elaina and Happy dodged Everlue as he continued to bounce off the walls.

"You'd really go as far as to imprison someone to just boost your ego?" Elaina said in disgust. "That's downright inhumane. For three years he was in solitary confinement. Do you have any idea how hard that must've been for him?"

"Three whole years?" Happy asked as he flew overhead. The two jumped back as Everlue popped up in front of them.

"Perhaps it took him that long to appreciate me," he said. "Boyoyoyo."

"You're wrong," Elaina said. "He couldn't bear to spread your lies is more like it. But he had to satisfy your vanity of course. He knew that if he didn't write your character as a heroic champion, then his family would suffer."

"Tell me, how exactly do you know all this?"

"Right here." Elaina held up the book in her hand. "In black and white."

"What? I've read that book from cover to cover and Kemu Zaleon isn't in it."

"Well, if you read it normally, there's no mention of him. But I clearly know something that you don't." Thanks to the series, of course. "Before he was an author, Kemu Zaleon was a wizard."

"He was?" Happy asked.

"What did he do?" Everlue questioned angrily.

"After he finished the book, he used all of his remaining strength and cast a spell on it." Everlue groaned.

"What a dirty trick. He turned a book about a great man like me into a hatchet job? The nerve of that fool!" Everlue lunged forward, making Elaina jump out of the way.

"You need to let it go." She dodged Everlue again. "While it's true that he wrote about all the pain and torture he went through. The chapters about what you did to him, however, are just a small part of this book. Its secret really has nothing to do with you."

"Tell us, Elaina," Happy said, drool coming out of his mouth.

"What the devil do you mean?" Everlue said.

"Well, let's put it this way," Elaina said. "I'm not gonna give you the book back, Duke Everlue, because it wasn't yours to begin with." She held out a golden key. "Open, Gate of the Giant Crab: Cancer!" The crab spirit came forth.

"A giant crab!" Happy said excitedly. "Oh yeah. Nothing says 'I'm gonna kick your butt' like a crab man with razor claws and tough guy sunglasses." He giggled. Elaina sighed with a small smile.

"Hey, Elaina, how would you like your hair done today, baby?" Cancer asked.

"What?!" Happy was mortified.

"I actually need your help, Cancer," Elaina said. She pointed to Everlue. "It's him. Take care of that guy right over there."

"Whatever you say, baby."

"Oh, so he just makes the bad guys look cooler before they kill us," Happy said. "That's useful. Yeah, you should send him back, Elaina."

"That's not exactly what happens, Happy," Elaina said.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!" Everlue exclaimed.

"He's using your trick, Elaina!" Happy said. Of course Elaina knew. It was after this that Lucy had acquired Virgo's key, meaning Elaina would as well.

"Did I hear my master summon me?" Virgo asked she popped out of the ground.

"Virgo, fetch me that book," Everlue said, pointing to the book Elaina held.

"So she's a celestial spirit?" Elaina asked, trying to sound surprised.

"Baby," Cancer said. Then Elaina, Happy, and Everlue gasped as they saw Natsu hanging onto Virgo.

"Natsu!" Happy and Elaina exclaimed happily. Even though she knew Natsu was gonna be all right, she was still relieved to see it with her own eyes.

"Yeah?" the pinked haired Dragon Slayer said.

"What is the meaning of this?" Everlue said.

"How'd you get up there?" Elaina asked.

"Well, I saw her getting up, so I jumped on her and then all of a sudden I ended up here," Natsu explained.

"Let me get this straight. You grabbed her while she was still inside the house? But that means that you had to have passed through the spirit gate with her. Only that's impossible."

"Elaina, what the heck do I do now?"

"Well, how about do what you do best and finish what you started?"

"Virgo, clean up this rubbish," Everlue said. Natsu jumped down from Virgo's shoulders.

"As you wish, Master," Virgo said.

"Now I'm fired up," Natsu said. "Fire Dragon Roar!" He let out his breath attack as Elaina grabbed onto the whip on her belt. She tied Everlue up with it as Natsu sent Virgo back with his roar.

"Take this, you go for nothing sorry excuse for a human being!" Elaina said as she sent Everlue flying towards Cancer, who used his scissors and made quick work of him. "Whatever heroic fantasy you think you're living is nothing compared to the villainous person you really are."

"Okay, I'm done," Cancer said. Elaina glanced back at the now bald Everlue. "Does this look fabulous or what, baby?"

"Oh yeah," Natsu said, one foot on top of the fallen Virgo. "Way to go, crab man—baby." Then everything started to shake and everything, the ceiling and the entire mansion, started to collapse.

Luckily, the three managed to escape. While Happy gasped at the falling building, Elaina cringed at the sight.

"I like your style," Natsu said. "Out with a bang. You are definitely gonna fit in at Fairy Tail."

"But aren't we supposed to not destroy stuff?" Happy asked.

"It seems that you can't really avoid that in this guild," Elaina said, giggling a bit.

* * *

Following the destruction of the Everlue Mansion, the trio went back to the residence of the client.

"When I read 'Daybreak,' I couldn't believe it was written by Kemu Zaleon," Elaina said. "It's impossible that he could've written something that bad."

"Yeah, so?" Natsu asked.

"So that's how I knew that there must've been a spell on it," she lied. Then she held out the book to Kaby.

"But I requested this book be destroyed," he said. "Why on earth are you handing it back to me completely unscathed?"

"If you really want it destroyed, then you should really do it yourself."

"I most certainly will burn this trash. I never wanted to see it again."

"I understand how you feel about this book, Kaby. You want to protect your father's legacy because you're actually Zaleon's son, am I right?"

"Huh?" Natsu and Happy said.

"Yes, that's true," Kaby said.

"Have you actually read it?" Elaina asked.

"No, I—I could never bring myself to do it. My father told me it was garbage."

"You were just gonna burn it?" Natsu asked.

"I was."

"Without even bothering to see what's inside?" Natsu had a hold on Kaby's collar. "It's the last book that your dad wrote, right? Some of us would kill for that kind of memory." Elaina got in between the two.

"Just let him explain himself, Natsu," she said, looking at the pink haired boy.

"Please, that book caused my family great heartache and shame," Kaby said. Then he went on to explain what happened after his father's return after those three years. "Not long after that, my father passed away. However, the anger and betrayal I felt towards him lived on. But as the years passed by me, that anger slowly turned into remorse. And now…it's too late for me to ask for his forgiveness. So I decided to make amends by destroying the final work that had caused him so much unhappiness. This is the only way. The only way I can preserve his legacy." He lit a match. "I'm sure that this is what he'd want."

"You're wrong," Elaina said. They all looked at her as the match blew out. Natsu and Happy gasped. "Look."

"What's happening?" he asked, covering his eyes as the book glowed in his hand. A magic circle appeared before the title levitated above the cover. The book now hovering above the floor on its own.

"A spell's been casted on this book. It's the work of the wizard Kemu Zaleon, or really Zekua Melon."

"A spell?" 'Daybreak' rearranged itself to read 'Dear Kaby' before settling itself on the cover. "'Dear Kaby.'"

"This book is his letter to you. Your father disguised it with a spell that rearranged all of the words so no one else could read it." The streams of letters and words burst from the book.

"Wow," Natsu said.

"Pretty," Happy commented.

"He didn't stop writing because he was ashamed," Elaina continued in her soft voice. "He stopped because he finished his masterpiece, a novel holding everything he had ever wanted to say to his son, who he loved dearly. And when you read it the way he had intended, it's most definitely his greatest work." By now, the words and letters retreated to the book, which was now closed in Kaby's hands. "And now that the spell's broken, you can read it for yourself."

"Thank you, Father," Kaby said as he was on his knees. "I swear that I will never let any harm come to this book."

"Well, I guess we won't be collecting that reward," Natsu said.

"Aye," Happy agreed.

"Huh?" Elaina said, not comprehending what he was saying. "What'd you mean?"

"We were supposed to destroy it," Natsu explained. "We didn't finish the job."

"Even so, let me do something," Kaby said.

"Nah," Elaina said, making everyone look at her. She gave a smile. "The best reward is this: giving you the last memento your father left you." Her finger lightly traced the pendant around her neck. "Seeing you cherish what your father left for you makes me happy." Natsu smiled as he started walking towards the door.

"There you have it," he said. "Thanks for offering, but we don't want it." Elaina started walking towards him as he stopped in front of the door. "I think it's time we all go home." Natsu turned his head to look over his shoulder. "That means you too, Mr. Melon. Go back home."

* * *

"Looks like I'm gonna have to find another job to pay for my rent," Elaina said as the three made their way home.

"If we had taken the money, it wouldn't have looked good," Natsu said. "You gotta think about Fairy Tail's reputation."

"Aye," Happy agreed.

"I know," Elaina said. "I meant what I said too. Even though we didn't take the reward money, the reward was just making him happy knowing how much his father really loved him."

Wasn't long after that did the three stop for the night.

"So how'd you know that the house wasn't really theirs?" Elaina asked as they sat around the fire. Natsu and Happy were eating fish.

"Hmm?" Natsu said. "Oh, that was easy. 'Cause they smelled like some other house. Seemed pretty obvious."

"Aye," Happy said.

"Guess that makes sense," Elaina said.

"You know, I've got you figured out," Natsu said. "All those papers I found on the desk at your place. You're writing a novel, aren't you?"

"Oh, so that's why she's such a bookworm," Happy said.

"Well, to be honest, it's not exactly a novel," Elaina said, catching the boy and cat's attention. "It's kind of a thing my mom and I used to do together all the time. We'd make story books together. They were about anything and everything the two of us imagined. We'd take turns doing the drawings and writing out the story. Those pages were of the last book we were working on together before my parents died." She looked into the fire with this solemn look on her face. "I was hoping to finish it up on my own."

"I'm sure you can do it," Natsu said. "I bet your mom would even be proud of you." Elaina looked at him in awe as tears welled up in her eyes. Then she gave him a smile.

"Thanks, Natsu."

* * *

The next day had the trio going through a swamp.

"Are you guys sure this is the right way?" Elaina asked as they trekked through.

"Happy says this is the way home, so this is the way we're going," Natsu replied.

"Have some faith," Happy said. "I'm a cat. I have a great sense of smell. My nose will lead us home."

"I'm sure you do have a great sense of smell, Happy," Elaina said. "But doesn't that trick usually work with dogs?" Eventually, they were out of the swamp and in a forest. As they walked, a rustling bush caught their attention.

"Who's there?" Natsu said as he jumped forward, ready for action, while throwing off his backpack and Happy from his head. Then Natsu started to fight behind the bushes with whoever it was. At that moment, Elaina remembered that this is the moment where they would encounter Gray.

"You can take him, Natsu," Happy said. Then both Natsu and Gray came out from behind the bushes. "It's Gray!"

"And in his underwear," Elaina said, turning her head slightly with a blush of embarrassment on her face.

"I was trying to find a bathroom," Gray said.

"Why would you strip down before you found one?" Natsu asked. "And who the heck ever heard of a bathroom in the middle of the forest?"

"I wanted some privacy. I didn't expect an idiot to barge in."

"I didn't barge in." And that's how that went before Elaina managed to break them apart and they all sat down while Happy fished in the river before them.

"So I take it you're on your way back from a job, huh?" Elaina asked.

"Yeah, there's a shortcut through these woods that'll get you back to town in no time," Gray said.

"See?" Happy said. "I told you so."

"All right, I'm sorry for doubting you, Happy," Elaina said. "Though, if you have such a great sense of smell, then how come you didn't know Gray was in front of us?"

"There are some things you don't want to smell."

"What'd you say?" Gray asked with a tick mark.

"I agree," Natsu said. "So go on home and we'll smell you later."

"Fine, I will." Gray started to get up. "And unless you want trouble, you should too."

"What makes you say that?" Elaina asked.

"'Cause Erza and Megan are due back any time now." Natsu gasped.

"Erza? Wow." Elaina was curious. Was Erza really as scary as she was made out to be in the series? And just who was this Megan person Gray mentioned? She definitely wasn't a character. Is it possible that she, Elaina, somehow created a shockwave when she made that wish and a whole new character was added?

"Yep, she's the most powerful woman in all of Fairy Tail," Happy said with his mouth full of fish.

"Then I can't wait to meet her." Elaina smiled. She really did want to meet Erza since Erza was one of Elaina's favorite Fairy Tail characters. "What's she like? And what's Megan like?"

"Scary," the three boys said, talking about Erza.

"Wild animal?" Gray asked.

"A vile beast," Natsu said.

"More like a full-on monster!" Happy put in. They imagined a huge monster like woman terrorizing a village. "She's not that big, you guys."

"Well, she's big enough for me," Natsu said.

"One thing we can all agree on is she is definitely that scary," Gray said. "Well, maybe a little scarier."

"Yeah, she's about this scary." Natsu pictured the same monster like woman kicking over a mountain.

"What? I guarantee you Erza could take down at least three mountains with a single kick."

"You don't need to exaggerate like that, Gray," Happy said. "It's more like two."

"Yeah, that's kinda scary," Elaina said, biting her lip. "Is Megan like that?"

"Nah, Megan's actually nice," Gray said. "She's kinda the opposite of Erza a little bit. I just wouldn't go picking a fight with her or get on her bad side. Then she can be just as scary as Erza. Like I said, we should get back."

"Crap, let's get moving!" Natsu said, getting up. Then there was an explosion, covering Natsu, Gray, and Elaina with dust and rock.

"What now?"

"Happy?" Dust was coming out of Natsu's mouth. Only Happy was gone.

* * *

"Hold it right there!" Natsu said to the assailants who were about to cook Happy. He, Elaina, and Gray stood high on top of a very large boulder.

"Happy!" Elaina said.

"Thank goodness," Happy said in relief. "Now I'm not gonna taste weird."

"Pipe down," one of the guys said.

"That's our friend you're trying to roast, buddy," Natsu said, cracking his knuckles. "Sorry, but you guys are gonna have to make other plans for dinner."

"You're all wizards, aren't you?" Gray asked. "What guild are you with?" if Elaina remembered the details correctly, those guys were with Eisenwald.

"I'm not telling," the troll like guy said. "Get 'em!"

"Gray, let's do this," Natsu said.

"All right, but don't go telling me what to do," Gray said. While those two dealt with those wizards, Elaina started to rush over to where Happy was.

"Natsu!" Elaina said, seeing the pink haired Dragon Slayer get caught in a sand attack.

"He's fine," Gray assured her. "Go and help Happy."

"Right." Elaina ran over to Happy. She started to untie him.

"Oh Elaina," the blue cat said.

"It's nothing, Happy." The girl smiled at him. Then her eyes widened as a large wizard, that look kinda like chicken, appeared at her side, not looking all that happy.

"Meat!" he said, raising his staff in the air. The end of it was on fire. Elaina gasped. Luckily for her and Happy, Gray kicked him back before going to fight the next guy, who then told him he'd have trouble with water and woman. And boy did Elaina know that.

"Uh, Gray, could you please put some clothes on?" Elaina asked, seeing that the dark haired wizard had stripped once again.

"Crap," Gray said. Elaina looked behind her and saw that Natsu was finishing off the troll guy.

As soon as that was done, they tied the bad guys to a tree.

"Don't you think you might have gone overboard, Natsu?" Gray asked.

"So what if I did?" Natsu retorted. "I got the job done."

"Grow up already. You're an embarrassment to the guild."

"What? Shut up!"

"No, you shut up."

"Lulla," the troll guy said. Elaina was crouched in front of him.

"Lulla?" she said. Then her eyes opened, remembering that this was the transition into the Lullaby arc.

"Lullaby is…" This caused Natsu and Gray to stop fighting.

"Huh?" Natsu said.

"Lullaby?" Gray questioned.

Then Happy came barreling towards them, knocking the three guild wizards out of the way, shouting, "Incoming!" Elaina watched as a shadowy hand appeared under the tree and dragged the tied up wizards down into the ground before disappearing.

"Wha…" she said shakily. Seeing the action in person spooked her.

"Who was that?" Natsu asked.

"Well, whoever it was, they're fast," Gray said. "I can't even sense their presence anymore."

"But what could this mean?"

"Lullaby…" Elaina muttered. This definitely wasn't sitting right with her.

* * *

 **And there you have it. Another chapter completed. Someone had pointed out that Elaina was started to sound a lot like Lucy and believe me when I say that I'm trying to avoid that and I'm sorry if she was. I hope I made this more original and if not, I'll seriously work on that.**

 **Anyway, I have something to ask you guys. Since I mentioned a new character would be making an appearance, Megan, I was wondering who you think she should be. I was thinking someone from Elaina's past at the orphange who managed to make her way to Earthland, or possibly someone's sister, like Laxus and I had some ideas that related to Jellal even. So I'm asking you guys which you prefer and you can even give me an idea that you think would work best.**

 **Just leave a review and I'll take a look.**

 **Thanks everyone. I hope you enjoyed this latest addition.**

 ******Hey guys, I just wanna let you know something. I have posted this story on Wattpad under the same name. So if you find this story and believe it to be someone copying my work, it's not. That's me!******


	6. The Wizard in Armor

**Hello everyone! I'm back! I am so so so so sorry for the long months you waited for me to update. I didn't mean to keep you all waiting, but I wanted to wait until the semester was over so all my attention could be focused on the story.**

 **So anyway, here's the latest chapter. And I apologize in advance if Elaina sounds a little too much like Lucy. I really tried not to, but some of the lines were difficult to work around.**

 **I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail in anyway, but Elaina and the newly introduced Megan are of my own creation**

* * *

"Hey, Mira, can we get three beers over here, please?" someone called out to the white haired bar maid.

"Be right with you," Mira said with a smile.

"So when are you and I gonna go on a date, Mira?" Wakaba asked.

"Would you leave her alone?" Laki said.

"Wakaba, there's one small problem," Mira said. Then she transformed her face into that of Wakaba's wife. "You already have a wife."

"I hate it when you do that!" Wakaba cried. "It's so creepy."

"I wish I could drink in peace for once," Cana said before taking a sip.

"Well, if you didn't drink all day…" Macao trailed off.

"I guess we should probably try to find another job," Natsu said.

"Aye, we're running out of food money," Happy said as he munched on a fish.

"Yeah, and my rent's due next week," Elaina said as she sat next to Natsu. "So I should find a job too." She got up and went to the request board. She looked at all the different jobs that were available. "Man, I didn't realize just how many jobs varied."

"Well, let me know if you find one you're interested in taking on," Mira said. "The master's away at conference, so I'm covering for him."

"A conference?" Elaina asked. "What kinda conference?"

"One for Guild Masters. Every once in a while, they all get together to talk about the state of things. It's like the Magic Council, but not."

 _Oh, right,_ Elaina thought. _This is when Natsu and Gray pair up with Erza to create Fairy Tail's strongest team._

"Excuse me, Reedus?" Mira said, turning to the wizard. "Could I borrow a light pen?"

"Oui," Reedus said, pulling out the light pen and giving it to Mira.

"The Council, Era, is the most powerful organization in the magical world," Mira explained as she wrote in the air with the light pen. "It's only one step below the government. It has ten members and it's their job to uphold all magical rules and regulations. And if a wizard breaks magical law, they would be tried by the Council. Then there's the different Guild Master Leagues, which are local groups who work together. Then the individual Masters. It's their job to pass on the decrees of the Council. They also communicate with other Guild Masters on a regular basis. I guess you could say they're the glue that holds all of us together. Which is a pretty stressful job."

"When you put it like that, yeah, it does sound pretty stressful," Elaina said. "Not to mention how connected all the different guilds are, that's amazing."

"It's important that we cooperate with one another, otherwise our system would fall apart."

"And then the guys in black would show up," Natsu said with this creepy look on his face, a flame on the tip of his finger. Elaina jumped, letting out a squeak of fright. Natsu laughed. "That was almost too easy."

"Don't scare me like that, Natsu," Elaina said. "You nearly had me jumping out of my skin."

"But seriously, the guys Natsu's talking about exist," Mira said as she continued writing in the air with the light pen. "They're the dark guilds. They've chosen not to join any of the leagues. They're the bad apples and most of them are involved in magical crime."

"Oh, wow." _Not sure how I feel about going toe-to-toe with Eisenwald,_ Elaina thought.

"Would you just go and pick us a job already?" Natsu asked Elaina.

"Huh? You really meant it when you said you wanted me on your team?" she asked.

"Yeah, I meant it. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, to be honest, I kinda thought you were using me because of my hair color."

"Don't be ridiculous. That's not the only reason we chose you. We picked you 'cause you're so nice." Elaina blushed at the compliment, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Hey, Elaina, I wouldn't stay with those losers if I were you," Gray said from his seat next to Cana. "You'll get plenty of offers from other teams."

"Your clothes, Gray," Cana said.

"Ah!"

"Jerk!" Natsu said. This caused Gray to stop freaking out over his missing clothes and butt heads with Natsu, literally.

"Did you just call me a jerk, Dragon Boy?"

"And what if I did? What're you gonna do about it?"

"You mouth-breather!"

"At least I'm not a coward."

"You're a spineless wimp."

"You're a freak!"

"Looks like they're at it again," Happy said.

"Why don't you join the team of love with me, Elaina?" Loke asked, arm around the brunette girl. "Later tonight, just the two of us?"

"Huh?"

"You're just so stunningly gorgeous. I have to keep my shades on when I look at you. Or I'll be blinded by your dazzling beauty."

"Uh…" Elaina shifted from one foot to the other, her keys catching the light. Loke took note of this and started to freak out.

"You're not a celestial wizard, are you?!"

"Yeah, she's got cows and crabs and stuff," Happy said, munching on a fish.

"Ah! Curse you, fate! Why must you toy with me so?! I'm sorry, but you and I can't be together, my dear!" Then Loke high-tailed it out of the guild.

Elaina knew of Loke's history with celestial wizards, but seeing it in person, she personally thought he was overacting greatly.

"Uh…" she said, having no words for Loke's actions.

"Loke has a bad history with celestial wizards," Mira said. "Rumor has it he dated one and it didn't end up very well."

"Can't honestly say it's sur—" Elaina was cut off by Natsu being pushed into her, the two falling to the floor.

"That looked painful."

Elaina groaned as her head ached from crashing to the floor. Then she looked up and blushed heavily. Somehow, Natsu managed to twist his body and landed on top of her, his hands on either side of her head. Natsu, however, didn't seem fazed by this.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, noticing Elaina's red face. "Your face is all red."

"Y-yeah," she squeaked. "I'm fine. It's just…do you two mind knocking it off with the fighting?"

"Natsu started it," Gray said. "I'm just following through."

"Where are your clothes?" Cana asked.

"Ah!" Natsu got off of Elaina, leaving the girl on the floor as she tried to calm herself.

"You're the one who was provoking me," the pink haired boy said, a red flaming aura surrounding him. "You dirty slimeball."

"Oh, yeah?" An ice blue aura surrounded Gray. "And what exactly did I do to provoke you? You fire clown."

"You pervy flasher!"

"Pink haired punk." Everyone was laughing at Natsu and Gray's bickering.

"I've got bad news!" Loke said, busting into the guildhall. Everyone went silent and looked at him. "It's Erza—she's on her way here." Everyone adopted a look of horror and fear.

"Is Erza really that scary for the entire guild to freak out?" Elaina asked.

"Well, she is the strongest female wizard we've got in Fairy Tail, and more than a bit intimidating," Mira said. Heavy footsteps approached the guildhall.

"That's gotta be her," Laki said.

"Those sound like her footsteps," said Wakaba.

"Even the air's gotten completely still," Macao said.

That's when Erza came in, in her red hair and armor glory. She put down the large horn, or claw, that was decorated on the floor. Elaina looked to Erza's left and saw a girl standing there.

She had long black hair, stormy gray eyes, and was a few inches taller than Elaina. She was wearing a yellow tank top, black open vest that stopped where her belly button would be, and jean shorts. On her feet were black boots that stopped just below her knees, gray socks peeking out of them. On her hands were gray, fingerless gloves. Like many of the girls in the guild, she also had very well endowed breasts. She had a smile on her face and her eyes held a spark of kindness. This had to be Megan.

"Megan and I have returned," Erza said. Her voice carried power in it as she spoke. "Where is Master Makarov?"

 _Man, Erza's even prettier in person,_ Elaina thought. _Megan's pretty too._

"Welcome back, Erza, Megan," Mira greeted the two. "The Master's at a conference right now."

"I see."

"And probably getting drunk, knowing him," Megan muttered with a smile on her face.

"So, um, what's that humongous thing you got there?" a wizard asked.

"It's the horn of a monster that Megan and I defeated," Erza said. "The locals were so thankful, they decorated it and gave it to us as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it?"

"No, not at all!" the wizard and the one next to him said, their hands held up in surrender.

"I bet she's heard about what happened at Mount Hakobe," Cana said, drinking from her barrel of alcohol.

"You think so?" Macao asked. "Aw, man, I'm a goner."

"She's nothing I've imagined her to be," Elaina said with a slight smile on her face. If anything, Erza was scarier and prettier in person, and Elaina was more than okay with that.

"Now, listen up," Erza said in her loud and commanding voice. "While we were on the road, I heard a few things. Word is Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov may not care, but I most certainly do. Cana, you need to start controlling your drinking. Vijeeter, please take the dancing outside. Wakaba, get rid of that filthy habit. Nab, I suspected I would find you dawdling in front of the request board. Just pick a job! Macao…" The man cringed as Erza turned to him. Erza sighed. "I don't even know where to begin with you. You cause so much trouble. I've almost given up."

"She's really letting everyone have it," Elaina whispered.

"That's Erza for ya," Happy said.

"Are Natsu and Gray here?" Erza asked.

"Aye!"

"Oh, hey there, Erza," Gray said. He and Natsu were sweating bullets, arms around each other like they were the best of friends. "We're just hanging out like good friends tend to do."

"Aye!" Natsu said, sounding like Happy.

"That's great," Erza said, completely buying their act. Elaina could see Megan silently laughing at Erza's obliviousness. "I'm quite pleased to see the two of you getting along so well. However, it's only natural for even the best of friends to lock horns every now and again."

"I don't know if we're the best of friends," Gray said.

"Aye…" Natsu said.

"Did Erza brake Natsu or something?" Elaina asked, keeping up the act that she didn't know why Natsu was acting the way he was.

"He's scared," Mira said. "A few years ago, he challenged Erza to a fight, and she beat him up pretty bad."

"That wasn't exactly bright on Natsu's part."

"After that, she found Gray walking around naked, so she decided to beat him up too," Macao said.

"And let's not forget, she also beat up Loke for trying to hit on her," Cana added. "He totally deserved it, though."

"To be honest, I can't blame her," Elaina said, knowing Loke and his flirtatious behavior.

"Natsu, Gray…I need you to do me a favor," Erza said. The two separated from one another. "While traveling, Megan and I overheard something that has me worried."

"We'd bring this up with the Master before doing anything typically, but he's not here and this is something we should stop before it starts," Megan said.

"The two of you are the strongest wizards here," Erza continued. "We could really use your help." The two boys looked at each other while many murmured amongst themselves. "We'll meet at the train station tomorrow morning."

"Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Megan working together?" Mira said. "I never saw that one coming. This could be the most powerful team Fairy Tail's ever seen."

 _You have no idea, Mira._

* * *

The next morning, Elaina sat on a bench at the train station, wearing her jean shorts, long purple shirt with a lighter purple t-shirt over it, and purple sneakers. Her suitcase was to her left and Happy was sitting to her right, munching on a fish.

"Ah!" Natsu exclaimed. "I hate this! Teaming up with you was the worst idea ever!"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Gray said. "Erza made a huge mistake asking a loser like you to come along."

"Fine then, why don't you just take care of it yourself? I don't wanna go anyway."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Then I'll get to watch her beat you senseless."

Elaina sighed as she watched the two of them go at each other.

"So what made you decide to come with us?" Happy asked with a mouth full of fish.

"Mira asked me to come along with you guys," she replied. "She's kinda hoping that I'd stop Natsu and Gray from going at each other."

"You aren't doing a very good job."

"Yeah, I know. I doubt any I'd try to do would stop them anyway."

"Sorry we're late," Erza said as she and Megan were walking toward them. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not really." Elaina looked and her eyes widened at the sight of Erza's luggage. The series wasn't lying about her over packing. Megan herself only had a black backpack for her things.

"It's time to go, good buddy," Gray said, his arm around Natsu and vice versa.

"Aye," the pink haired boy said. "Ha-ha!"

"Good, I really love to see the two of you getting along," Erza said. Then she looked at Elaina. "And what was your name? I believe I saw you at the guild yesterday."

"My name's Elaina," the brunette introduced herself. "I just recently joined Fairy Tail. Mira asked me to come along so that I could learn a thing or two. I hope that's okay with you."

"The more the merrier. I'm Erza."

"And I'm Megan," the black haired girl said with a smile.

"Wait, you're the girl I heard about." Erza quickly glanced back at Natsu and Gray, causing them to stop glaring at each other briefly before continuing once her back was turned to them. "I was told you defeated a mercenary gorilla using only your pinky finger. It'll be great to have a wizard like you on board. Thanks for your help."

"No, really, my pleasure," Elaina said, sweat-dropping.

"You can relax," Megan said with a giggle. "Kinda figured that rumor was completely exaggerated. Maybe when you got the time, you can tell me what really happened."

"Oh, sure." Elaina smiled shyly at her.

"Hey, Erza, I'll come with you, but only under one condition," Natsu said. He had stopped fighting with Gray.

"Shut up," Gray hissed.

"Oh?" Erza said. "Well, then let's hear it."

"'Kay, I wanna rematch when we get back to Fairy Tail," Natsu said, his fist held up and clenched tightly.

"What's wrong with you?" Gray questioned in a low whisper. "Got some kind of a death wish?"

"I'm a lot stronger than I was last time. This time will be way different. 'Cause I'm gonna beat you."

"Yes, I can tell you've improved," Erza said. "As to whether or not you can beat me, I suppose we'll have to see. I accept your challenge."

"Oh, yeah! I'm fired up!" Elaina had to giggle softly as Natsu's head caught on fire. She knew how the match was gonna end.

* * *

"I swear, you're totally pathetic, Natsu," Gray said, looking out the window, yet making mention of Natsu's sickly figure. "One minute you're picking a fight, the next, you're like this."

"Be nice, Gray," Megan chided from her seat in between the boys, Happy sitting on her lap. "It's not like he can help it."

"I'm only stating a fact."

"Don't worry," Erza said. "He'll be fine. Come here and sit with me."

"Guess I'll move, then," Elaina said, switching seats with Natsu.

"Now just relax." Then Erza punched him in the gut, rendering him unconscious in her lap. "There, that should make the trip a little easier on him."

"Erza, I think it's about time you and Megan started filling us in," Gray said. "I mean, what kind of mission are we going on here?"

"Of course. I have reason to believe the dark guild Eisenwald is planning something big. I'm not sure what exactly, but it has to do with a magic item called Lullaby."

"Lullaby?" Gray and Happy questioned at the same time.

"That word…" Elaina said. "We've heard that before."

"Huh?" Megan said, looking between Gray and Elaina. "How?" Gray then went into an explanation about what happened after he met up with Elaina, Happy, and Natsu on his way back from his mission.

"I see," Erza said. "So you've run into the Eisenwald Guild before?"

"Well, I'm not positive they were part of Eisenwald," Gray said. "But they did mention Lullaby."

"It sounds like they were members who dropped out of the guild and gone into hiding. Perhaps they wanted no part of whatever it is that's coming."

"So this thing is so bad it even scares dark wizards?"

"I'm only hypothesizing. But whoever you saw dragging off Happy's kidnappers that day, must have been from Eisenwald."

"They obviously don't want any one knowing what they're planning," Megan said.

"What do you think they're gonna try to do?" Elaina asked.

"Let me start from the beginning," Erza said. "Just the other day, Megan and I were heading home after completing a job. We stopped by a pub in Onibas that I knew was a gathering spot for local wizards." Then she went on to explain the conversation they had overhead between wizards they were sure were from Eisenwald and how they were talking about Lullaby.

"Lullaby…" Elaina said. "That's what you sing your kids to sleep with." She remembered from when she was quite young that her mother would sing lullabies to her to help her fall asleep at night.

"Yes. And the fact that it had been sealed away means that it must be very powerful magic."

"You sure the guys you saw at the pub are with Eisenwald?" Gray asked.

"Well, they did mention Lullaby and unsealing it," Megan said. "So call it a hunch."

"I can't believe I was such a fool that day," Erza said. "I didn't recognize his name. Erigor, the ace of Eisenwald. He only accepts assassination requests, which is why he's earned the name 'Erigor the Reaper.'" Elaina shivered.

"Killing for money, seriously?" she said, biting her lip at the horrible thought.

"When the Council outlawed assassination requests, Eisenwald decided that money was more important than the Council's rules. As a result, they were kicked out of their wizard league six years ago. But that didn't stop them. They've disobeyed orders and remained active to this day." There was a pause. Elaina bit her lip, but kept quiet. Then Erza slammed her fist on Natsu's head. "How could I have been so careless? If only I had recognized Erigor's name that day, I could have pulverized them. I could have forced them to reveal their scheme to me." Megan sighed.

"If that's what you call being careless, then that makes two of us, Erza," she said. "I was there with you. I've heard about Erigor and Eisenwald too. I could've said something if I had remembered. We can't sit around and think about the 'what ifs'."

"So if I got this, Eisenwald's planning to do something with this Lullaby, and you two wanna stop them," Gray said, looking out the window before looking at Megan and then at Erza. "Because after what you overheard, you're sure that it's gonna be something bad."

"That's correct," Erza said. "And I'm not foolish enough to believe that I can take on an entire magical guild all by myself. That's why I asked you and Natsu for your help. We're storming the Eisenwald Guild."

"Sounds like fun to me."

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Elaina took a deep breath, clenching her hands into fists in her lap.

"Everything okay, Elaina?" Megan asked her quietly, taking note of the brunette's actions.

"To be honest, taking on a whole dark guild is making me nervous," Elaina admitted. "I haven't had much experience fighting like you guys have had. If anything, I'm just gonna get in your way."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Just remember that if something goes wrong, we all have your back." Elaina gave Megan a smile.

"Thanks."

* * *

It came around lunch time when a snack cart came by. Elaina spent what little pocket money she had on sandwiches for her and the others. Erza had unsurprisingly gotten cake.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, Erza, but what sort of magic do you use, Erza?" Elaina asked, keeping up her act of not knowing anything.

"That's a good question," Erza said.

"Erza's magic is really pretty," Happy said. "She makes her enemies bleed a lot."

"Not sure I'd call that pretty, Happy," Elaina said, chuckling softly at Happy's smiling face.

"Personally, I think Gray's magic is much more beautiful than mine," Erza said, taking a bite out of her cake.

"Oh, like this?" Gray said, putting his two hands together. A blue magic circle appeared in front of him before he opened his hand. There sat a replica of the guild's emblem made of ice. "I use ice magic."

"Oh, wow," Elaina said. "So I guess that's why you and Natsu don't get along. He's fire and you're ice. Total polar opposites."

"When you think about it that way…" Megan said with a laugh.

"Nah, I just hate his guts," Gray said. Elaina giggled before turning to the black haired girl beside her.

"So what's your magic, Megan?" she asked.

"I use lightning magic," Megan answered. "See?" She held up a finger and a spark appeared from the tip of it.

"Neat." _If Megan has lightning magic, does that mean she's related to Laxus somehow?_ Elaina thought to herself.

* * *

"You think the Eisenwald guys are still gonna be in this town?" Gray asked when they had gotten off the train at Onibas Station.

"I have no idea," Erza said. "That's what we're here to find out."

"Hold on, where's Natsu?" Happy asked, stopping everyone in their tracks. Happy looked as the train left the station. "Uh-oh, there he goes." He waved goodbye at the parting train.

"We were so busy talking, I forgot about him," Erza said. "I am such a fool. Natsu hates all forms of transportation. This is all my fault. I need one of you to come and hit me for my penance."

"There's really no need for that, Erza," Megan said. "Let's just try to find a way to stop the train and go get Natsu."

"Right."

They searched for a way to stop the train and came across an emergency break, which Erza pulled.

"What do you think you're doing, lady?" one of the workers asked. "You can't pull the emergency lever without permission."

"It's for our comrade," Erza responded. "Please understand."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Now, I would like you to take our luggage to the hotel."

"Do I look like a bellhop?"

"You know, pretty much all the wizards in the Fairy Tail Guild have a couple of screws loose," Elaina said, watching the scene before her.

"Well, not all of us," Gray said.

"Then how come you're just in your boxers?" Elaina now looked at him unfazed. She was starting to get used to Gray and his stripping habit.

Megan laughed as she held up Gray's missing clothes.

* * *

Elaina stuck her head out of the magic mobile they had acquired as Erza sped towards the train that was now moving. Megan and Happy were inside with her while Gray was hanging onto the roof.

"Natsu!" Elaina yelled as Natsu jumped out of the train and flew into Gray, knocking him off the roof of the magic mobile.

"Natsu, are you all right?" Erza asked.

"Aye," Natsu said in pain as he and Gray were on the ground, both holding expressions of pain.

"Come on, you two," Megan said, helping Gray up.

"Here," Elaina said to Natsu, helping him up as well.

"That hurt, you idiot!" Gray said.

"Shut up, you icy freak," Natsu retorted. "How come you guys left me on the train?"

"I'm just thankful you weren't badly injured," Erza said. "I apologize, Natsu." Then she pulled him into a hug, meaning she smacked his head against her breast plate. Natsu grunted in pain.

"It's okay." Natsu straightened himself out. "Well, I'm shaken up pretty bad. I got attacked by a weirdo on the train."

"Really?" Elaina said.

"I think it's the dude that dragged away the guys who were gonna eat Happy. Said he was with Eisenwald." Then Natsu got smacked in the face by Erza.

"You fool!" the red head said. "That is exactly who we're chasing after on this mission. Why did you let him get away?!"

"What the— This is the first I heard about it." Natsu had this clueless look on his face.

"I explained everything on the train. You should listen when people talk to you."

"She totally forgot that she knocked him out," Elaina said. "Geez."

"Yep," Gray agreed.

"That's Erza for ya," Happy said, well, happily.

"So he was on the same train that we were on," Erza said, having finally calm down and strapping herself into the magic mobile. "Let's find him."

"But what was this guy like?" Gray asked Natsu.

"He didn't look like somebody from a dark guild," the pink haired boy answered. "But he did have this strange flute thing. It looked like a skull, except it had three eyes."

"A three-eyed skull?" Elaina asked. _I guess this is where I share a little of what I know,_ she thought.

"That's creepy," Gray said.

"Is there something wrong, Elaina?" Happy asked, noticing the look on the girl's face.

"It's just…I've heard about that flute before," Elaina said. "Lullaby… Cursed song… It's death magic."

"What?" Erza said.

"A cursed song?" Gray said. "Like an incantation?"

"I've only ever read about them, but there are some really deadly spells that wizards are forbidden to use," Elaina said.

"That's right," Erza agreed. "There are cursed black magic spells that will kill the person they're used on."

"If I'm right… Lullaby's worse than that."

"Then let's not stand around talking about it," Megan said. "We need to stop Eisenwald before they use that flute."

* * *

"Hey, slow down, Erza," Gray said, once again from the roof of the magic mobile, as Erza quickly drove in the direction the train went. "You're using up too much of your own power driving this thing."

"I have no choice but to press onward," Erza called back. "We're running out of time. If Erigor gets his hands on this death magic, trust me, lives will be lost."

* * *

 **And there you have it. I hope you guys enjoyed reading and meeting Megan.**

 **I'm coming up with ideas for the future arcs, but let me know what you guys think.**

 **Leave me a review. :)**


	7. Author's Note---I'M SORRY!

Hey guys! You guys must hate me because this isn't an update.

Unfortunately, I'll admit I lost my inspiration to continue writing for now. Key words: FOR NOW! I'm not saying I've given up on this story because it's like my baby, but it's on an indefinite hiatus for the time being.

However, I am working on ideas for this story and I have about half of the next chapter typed up. But let's be honest here, it wouldn't be fair to you guys as the readers if I gave you a chapter that had no passion behind it.

So I hope you can understand and hopefully be patient with me for when I do update the next chapter and any chapters after that.

In the mean time, check out of the poll I posted on my profile for when you would like to see Elaina and Natsu get together. If you don't like any of those options, leave a review or message me about when you feel like they should get together.

I would also like to thank you guys, though, for the favorites and the follows and the reviews. I know you guys have some reservations regarding how I'm going about this, but you're not being harsh in anyway and I really appreciate that. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.


End file.
